The Masked Gypsy
by Kasai120
Summary: Alvery was always annoyed with that gypsy, Clopin, who would sing in front of her house. After he had saved her life, would she risk her life as a Parisian to become a filthy street rat just because of him? Rated T for suggestive themes later. Please R/R!
1. Prologue

-Clopin's Point of View-

I could barely feel the whips on my back anymore. I didn't bother screaming anymore since I knew it was useless and that the pain was now subsiding. The torturer was slowly losing his amusement since I wasn't screaming. He slowed the beatings, trying to lengthen it out but it had no real effect. "Come on, Gypsy, you know you want to scream with pain," he hissed. I stayed silent. If I said anything he could find offensive, he might switch weapons. To possibly anger him, because it is one of my favorite things to do, I let out a yawn instead. I could nearly feel his glare at my back and I snickered. He stopped whipping and walked towards the door. My eyes followed him although I cared very little where he was going. All the weapons were in here so there was no possibility he could be switching weapons.

My eyes flickered to the window, made of bars. There was a shadowy figure and I watched as the bars fell to the ground. There was very little light in this torture chamber but I knew who it was. I felt them tugging at my shackles and then they fell off. I rubbed my wrists and the figure stood up, slinging me over his shoulder. "Hi papa," I muttered in a raspy voice. I got a response of a grunt and in a matter of seconds he was cascading down the side of the Palace of Justice with me across his shoulders.

I felt myself going limp across his shoulders but I fought to stay awake. "Sleep, son. I'll yell at you once you awake." I muttered something unintelligible and closed my eyes, surrendering to sleep in a matter of seconds.

I woke up in my bed, clean and clothed. My eyes felt groggy and my throat was very sore. "Good morning, sunshine," I heard a familiar voice sing. It belonged to one of my closest friends who would pick on me but I would always come back with something. I gave her a small smile and groaned as I turned to lie on my stomach. I felt her hand on my head and run through my hair. I nearly forgot to mention, just because we hated each other and picked on each other, didn't mean we weren't the best of friends. "Harman said no going up into the city for two weeks." I groaned. Great, I got myself into another mess.

------------three weeks later----------------

I came back to the Court of Miracles, a smile stretching from ear to ear. I didn't realize how much I missed singing and playing with puppets for the children on the streets of Paris. My smile soon dropped as I sensed the distress and sadness in the air. I walked forward and into the Court, my eyes scanning a small crowd of people. Most of them were sobbing or staring at me then looking down. I slowly made my way through the crowd, everyone making a path for me. I looked over at my siblings. All of them, even the ones who moved out a long time ago, were back in the Court, crying their eyes out. All of them were sitting down, huddled together. Adrien, the eldest of my siblings not counting myself, was cradling the majority of my siblings. "Adrien, what's going o-"

"Dad's dead," he cried. It felt like the world stopped. I thought I had fainted, since everything turned black for a little while. When I came back to reality, it turns out that I was conscious the entire time. I had my head down on my desk, my arms soaked with tears and my cheeks stained. I heard Tante Marie whispering to me softly and felt her hand on my back.

"Its okay, Clopie, its okay," she whispered. I knew it wasn't. I could hear the quivering in her voice and knew she had been crying as well. I could only imagine how devastated she was to lose her brother. I looked towards my bed, my oldest female sibling looking at me. Aishe stared at me from my pillow, her eyes red from all her tears. I sat up, rubbing the tears from my face and looked over to Aishe. I got up and sat beside her on the bed, stroking her back. It reminded me of when I was ever put in charge to babysit and she would cry over a nightmare. Although, this was far from a nightmare; this was reality. I lied down and closed my eyes as Adrien's words echoed in my head. Those two words that sent my world plummeting to the ground.

_Dad's dead. Dad's dead. Dad's dead. Dad's dead. Dad's dead. Dad's dead. _


	2. Chapter One

**3 years later**

-Alvery's Point of View-

_The Gypsy sings his merry song  
Little does he know who will sing along  
Oh, Gypsy give me the chance  
To get up and begin to dance._

_For if you give me the courage, Give me the grace, Perhaps I shall dream Of your beautiful face._

I thought of writing more but then I realized that this was probably one of the worst things I've ever written. I crumpled the paper up and tossed it lazily to the ground. My little rhyme was based on that gypsy performer underneath my window. My window is on the second story yet his singing sounds as if he is right next to me. I shook my head. He was a disgusting gypsy, just like the rest of them. I could honestly say that I detested this one above the others. His voice was pure but that smile…I don't know. There was just something about it that didn't seem real. It was as if someone threatened him that if he didn't smile he would be beaten. I assume it's just a mask over something else but I can't fairly determine what it is he is trying to mask.

My eyes drifted back over to the crumpled up paper on the floor. I felt my jaw clench as I thought of him again. Gypsies were just filth on the street, as my father always told me, and all they did was rob, murder, and get drunk. I heard his voice through my window varying between pitched from his different puppets. I never bothered to approach him. Like I've been told by nearly everyone in Paris, the gypsies like to go through with many crimes and I didn't feel like being a victim. I needed something to distract me. Maybe Cerise, my little sister, or my mama was downstairs. I inched the door open and slipped out, walking slowly down the stairs. I saw my mama trying to relax on the couch. "Mama?"

She looked exhausted, looking up at me from the couch. "Yes, Alvery?"

"Where's Cerise?"

"She's outside watching that gypsy man perform," she responded carelessly.

I felt a rage build inside me. "What?! Why would you let her do that? She could be kidnapped or worse! Papa will be furious!"

She started rubbing her temples. "Alvery, calm down. That gypsy man has been there for years and he's been no problem. There's no need to tell Papa. We don't need more chaos in this house."

"Fine," I paused. "..but I'm going to go get her," I announced, walking out of the house before she could object.

-Clopin's Point of View-

I started to pull out puppet after puppet for Romeo and Juliet. Puppet, the one looking like me, would just be thrown in for the fun of it. I made my voice slightly higher though not nearly as high as I did for the girl characters and Puppet. "Juliet, my love, we shall be together forever," the Romeo puppet sighed. I looked down at the children. Some of the girls were into the romance bit but none of the boys were. I looked up quickly. The sun was setting so it was time to wrap it up. "She will never love you, Romeo! She loves me," Puppet screeched, causing the children to laugh. I made the Juliet puppet disappear as I smacked Puppet with my stick. "How many times must I remind you? You will never get the woman!"

"He deserves a girlfriend by now," a girl giggled.

I chuckled and winked. "Don't give him any idea, mademoiselle," I whispered down to her. "She's right, big nose, I do deserve a girlfriend by now!" The girl giggled again and I began to wrap up the show by having a full on debate on why Puppet doesn't deserve a girlfriend and having him debate back with reasons why he should, all of it a joke of course.

Puppet and I bowed for my performance as I received applause from a few children. I held my hat out to collect any donations for my meals tomorrow. As usual, most of the children were dragged away but some through in their allowances and others asked their parents to give me money. I brought my hat back in with me and closed the doors partially. I put the money in a small jar next to the window. I heard harsh whispering outside my window and put my ear towards my window but not enough to make myself visible. "Are you mad?! You know better than to trust gypsies! Especially this one. He is here before we wake up and his here when we go back inside. He must be memorizing our routine in order to steal from us!" I rolled my eyes. I was here before this girl moved in so I don't know what she's going on about. I heard the little girl who had commented about Puppet deserving a girlfriend sigh. "-but he's such a handsome gypsy. He makes me laugh and he wouldn't hurt me," the girl came back with. Bless her heart for defending me. I quietly made my way to the opening that acted as a door. I untied the fabric so it hung above the opening. "Okay, Cerise, I'll admit he isn't completely on the hideous side but he is a gypsy. No matter what he looks like, he is not to be trusted." I put on my best grin and interrupted this little sibling fight. "Because I'm a gypsy? I'd have to say that I am confused by your words, mademoiselle. Should I be thanking you for calling me handsome or be annoyed you attitude toward me and my people?"

If looks could kill, I think I would be dead right now. "Be annoyed since I have been annoyed with your singing ever since we moved here. I mean, honestly, the dogs' bickering with each other over a scrap of meat is better than your pathetic singing."

I don't know what you think but I'm pretty sure she crossed the line. I kept my smile up and looked around nonchalantly. I decided to do something quite out of my nature and that was to be mean towards a woman that was above my ranking. I smacked the latch that held the awning above the window to my cart down backing a giant smacking sound which caused her to let out a small scream. Apparently I wasn't the only one who had found humor in my little prank since her sister was nearly on the ground from laughing so much. "I'm sorry, mademoiselle, did I startle you?" I asked, faking concern. She shot a glare at me and headed back into her house. I shook my head with a small laugh. I closed the doors to my window all the way, properly put the awning back and grabbed the small jar of money. With a bound, I headed back to the Court of Miracles, prepared to tell my friends and Tante Marie about the encounter with the obnoxious woman.


	3. Chapter Two

-Alvery's Point of View-

I awoke earlier than usual, hearing soft singing and humming outside my window. I ran a hand through my messy hair tiredly. I rubbed my eyes and looked outside my window. The bells of Notre Dame rang five times signaling the sky was a mix of reds, blues and purples. I will admit, it was truly magnificent but either way, I resented getting up at this hour. The bitter morning air bit at my nose, stinging with the chilly weather of Paris on its way.

My eyes wandered down to the cobblestone road where I saw the source of the singing and humming. It was **him**. I exhaled, watching him pace holding an apple which seemed to be all he was eating for breakfast. It was difficult to make out any words since his words were significantly quieted since they were mainly just for his own ears to hear. I watched as his head, covered by the purple hat he normally wore, slowly sank lower and his faint words became slurred. His mind eventually caught up with his exhaustion and he sat on a crate, leaning his head against the wall as he tipped his hat down and threw his apple core in an alley. He pleasantly placed his arms across his chest, closing his eyes and letting the sleep take him over.

I desired to make best of the situation at hand and got dressed, throwing a cloak on over so that I wouldn't get sick from the weather. I grabbed some noisemakers from a drawer in the house where we kept any unnecessary items that had no real significance to be put anywhere special. I made my way over to the gypsy, keeping my steps light although I heard his snoring from my doorway. I rose my hand, throwing the noisemakers down which caused them to make a earsplitting crack. "WHAT THE-" The gypsy man fell into the space that separated the crate from the wall. He lifted his hat, careful to keep his mask on. His eyes changed from a look of shock but they quickly turned to anger. Wait... his eyes aren't even on me! I whipped my head around to see a woman approximately my age covering her mouth as she stifled her giggles. She was a gypsy, revealed by her skin color and her clothing, but she was much prettier than myself. "Shut up, Camille," the gypsy man grumbled from behind me.

-Clopin's Point of View-

I couldn't decide who I was angry with. Camille or the woman who hates gypsies. Ignoring Camille's praise to her for pulling a prank on me, I struggled to get out of the small space I was stuck in. My hand slipped on the rocky building which caused my shoulder to collide with the side of the house. I clenched my teeth and looked to Camille for help in getting out. "Aw, is little Clopie stuck?" Of course she had to tease me, she always did. I glared at her mostly for her and the other woman's benefit. She reached out her hand which I took eagerly with the arm that wasn't sore. I ignored both of them as I got to my feet and quickly went to my cart.

Once inside, I brushed the bit of dirt that got on me off. I decided to stay inside until the color from my cheeks calmed down. I didn't need Camille on my case about blushing when she already had that prank to use against me. I heard them exchange names. I was half-tempted to drag Camille away from that conversation. She knew better than to converse with the townspeople as if they were among our kind. I knew I had to jump into the conversation at the first chance I could get. Heaven knows how quickly I can distract Camille and vice versa. "...I suppose you did that out of revenge seeing as how much trouble he can get into." And that's my cue.

I tied up the fabric that hung over the opening to my cart. "Look who's talking." I saw Alvery, who I had just found out the name of due to Camille's short chat with her, turn and look at me as if I wasn't here before. I leaned against the doorway, ready to begin arguing away with Camille.

"Hey, at least _I'm_ not the forgetful one," she countered.  
"What do you mean by that?"  
" Hey, I just gave you a hint!"  
I arched an eyebrow. "What hint?"  
" That you forgot something," Camille responded with a smile while I rolled my eyes.  
" Do I not deserve another hint?" I teased.  
" Hm... well I guess you can get another hint...Wait, Clopin, what's the date?"  
" The sixth of January. Why do you ask?"

I watched as her and Alvery exchanged glances. I knew, of course, what today was. Who could forget Topsy Turvy Day? Especially knowing I've been leading the festivities for... four years now. My father had given me the position of leading festivities as his age began to take a hit on him. Anyways, I tried looking as confused as possible as if I had never knew this date held any significance at all.

I watched as Camille searched for another hint. "Okay another hint then..." She pointed to the bell tower. An obvious hint to any moron. Quasimodo lived in the bell tower. Quasimodo was the greatest King of Fools we ever had. Still, I kept the charade up, looking back over at Camille as if she had lost it. "Clopin, I swear I'm going to strangle you," she grumbled. I lost it. I had to stay leaning on the door frame to keep from falling to the ground with laughter. Camille looked over at Alvery who was looking at me as if I had grown a second head.

"Cam, of course I know it's the Festival of Fools! I'm running it, remember?" I teased. "Man, you really _can_ fall for anything!" Camille advanced for me and threw a punch that I quickly avoided, leaping off of the cart's stairs and began to make a mad dash for the center of Paris. Camille said her goodbyes politely to Alvery and ran after me. She knew where we were heading so I watched her take an alternate route so she was right at my heels. I ran through an alley while she smirked, running forward to catch me once I had to meet her path. I climbed on top of some crates, springing from roof to roof, snickering as I jumped over Camille's head and onto the next roof. I heard her mutter something under her breath and continue chasing me on the street level.


	4. Chapter Three

-Quasimodo's Point of View-

I smiled as Esmeralda handed me the streamers that I should use for decorating the city. Since I gained the acrobatic skills from climbing down Notre Dame, I was able to relieve Clopin of the task of putting the streamers up for the festivities. Last time I set them up though, I had gotten yelled at by the other gypsies, excluding my good friends, for not getting permission from Clopin to set them up. While I walked into the city I tried to picture where I would put these streamers. Clopin always seemed to decorate perfectly so I made my way to his tent. I heard two people trying to gain their breath back. "I almost got you!" A voice said, which I immediately recognized as Camille, Clopin's closest friend.

"Yeah, _almost_," he teased. I hated walking up to people who were having a nice conversation. The child inside me crept up as I stared at my feet, unsure of whether to disturb someone or not. I heard Clopin groan in frustration and I took that as a point to enter. I opened the door to the tent, seeing Camille twirling his hat on her finger. He had told her multiple times, and probably even more times than that before I entered the Court of Miracles, to not play with his hat. It actually wasn't his hat but his father's hat...and his father's before him and so on. It was a crown of kingship that was to be past down to the eldest male member of the family. Esmeralda informed me on this while quickly adding that she worried Clopin would never produce an heir before the soldiers hang him for.. well, any reason they could think of.

I brought my eyes to meet Clopin's black and inviting ones. "Where are we supposed to hang these streamers?" I asked timidly, still looking uncomfortable.

"Just hang them high enough so neither the drunks nor the children can tear them down," he said with the usual ring in his tone. I nodded, slowly backing away.

"Quasi," Camille interrupted, turning my attention to her. "I'll give you five francs if no streamers fall down!" I gave her a smile and backed out of the tent.

-Clopin's Point of View-

I watched as Quasimodo left my tent and headed into town to start decorating the town. I played with my hair, running my fingers through it and standing up, straightening my tunic. I stretched, wincing when my back cracked. "Getting up in years, eh Clopie?" I rolled my eyes at her, continuing to stretch so my stiff muscles would relax. I let out a yawn, my arms going down to my sides. "Didn't get enough beauty sleep?" Camille teased. I didn't have the pleasure of putting up a fight since I saw someone standing outside.

"Come in?" Mihai entered my tent. He was an average looking gypsy: shorter than I but taller than Camille, black hair that reached to just below his shoulders and was tied back, peculiar orange-colored eyes and clothes that you would normally expect out of a gypsy. Mihai and I knew each other but we rarely spoke to each other. Both of our families moved up to France from Spain but he had always been the odd ball of the group. By odd ball, I mean the one who just watched the kids play, never joined in our games and was very quiet. Nothing has changed much about him since we grew up. I blame his parents for his personality though. Both were always cussing, sometimes throwing punches until the other was unconscious or someone would get annoyed with the argument and break it up. Neither ever laid a hand on their son for they knew much better than that. Now that he has grown up, he still speaks little and I haven't seen him talk to a woman yet (to which I blame his mother for making him fear a relationship with a woman).

"Um, Clopin?" His head was ducked low and he was playing with his thumbs like a scared child. I couldn't help but wonder what he would be like if he weren't so afraid of the world.

"Is there something wrong, Mihai?" Like I said, we rarely spoke to each other and if we did, it was normally something that he felt he really needed to tell me, never anything personal.

"Well," he hesitated," I followed you and Camille to the Parisian woman's house and I stayed a little bit after you guys left and I saw Luca watching her house from an ally..."

He didn't have to say anything further. Luca was one of the brutes that had joined the Court. Since we take in all outcasts, we have to take in the brutes but I'm always the one to try and change their ways. I adjusted my mask and began to walk through the door. _Shoot, I forgot my-_ Camille smacked me in the face with my hat and I placed it on my head. I could have sworn I saw Mihai smile at her but the second I thought it, he had the same expression he normally wore. p/

I let him lead since he knew which ally Luca was hiding in. Alvery was very incorrect in thinking that I would be spying on her. Most of us try to hide in the allies or on top of buildings or anywhere that the person you're spying on wouldn't think to look. The reason Mihai was here was only to guide me to Luca because I knew if Luca did anything to Alvery or her family, Mihai wouldn't have the strength to stop him. Luca began to slow his pace as we heard muffled screams and low harsh whispers. I took Mihai by the arm and put him near the wall motioning for him to stay. I peeked around the corner to see Luca holding one hand over her mouth and the other holding a dagger to Alvery's throat. Her cheeks were stained with tears, obviously frightened of dying in a matter of seconds. I decided to keep my dagger out of my hand so that Luca knew I wasn't aiming to kill him although I felt anger boiling in my veins at seeing him threatening her although... I had no clue **why**.

Slowly and carefully, I made my way into the view of Luca, standing a good distance away. Sadly, I've seen this situation many times before and had to deal with it. Luca's eyes had to take a double take of me. Although he kept a strong hold on her, I could tell it was more out of fear of me. "Luca, let her go." I was surprised by how powerful my voice sounded at that moment. He kept his gaze steady with me and I could hear his breathing from a few feet away. I began to advance towards them, Luca keeping them where they were. Both of us jumped back as Alvery suddenly let out a muffled scream that nearly sounded like a quiet scream and his hand wasn't covering her mouth.

-Alvery's Point of View-

My foot slipped and my ankle twisted to the side way too much. More tears drenched my face which I regretted since I knew that was embarrassing in front of Clopin. I felt my pulse beating in my ankle and vibrating in my foot. I felt the crack of the bone but I couldn't shout for help. All I could do right now was sob against Luca's hand. I heard Clopin mutter menacingly, "Luca, leave now before you disgrace your name and the gypsies' any further."

I felt Luca's hold on my mouth loosen slightly. "Yes, my King," he muttered reluctantly. I focused my blurry eyes on Clopin's. _**King?**_. Luca released me fully and pushed past Clopin. I collapsed on the ground, holding my ankle and sobbing uncontrollably. Before I had time to react, Clopin was walking out of the ally with me in his arms. I met another gypsy man's eyes as we walked walked out of the ally and into the side street that would lead to my house. Once I met the other man's eyes, he immediately looked down. I heard Clopin say something to him in an odd language I was unfamiliar with.

While he made the short trip to my house, he attempted to distract me and I noticed this. "You okay? I thought you got possessed or something," he said with a small laugh which I glared at to the best of my abilities.

"He twisted my ankle on a loose brick." He dropped his smile and just nodded, obviously not used to this usual coldness. I clenched my teeth. "Put me down!" I did _NOT_ want to be carried by some filthy gypsy.

"As you wish, mademoiselle," he replied, dropping me on the ground. "I meant lightly you idiot!" He shrugged, leaving me where I was and going back the way we came. I looked up, realizing he had dropped me right near my house. My mother looked over at me from the doorway. She quickly helped me inside and I told her what had happened.

As I stared out the window later, I let my thoughts wander to Clopin. I had yelled at him and I was bitter to him. Yet, he was the reason why Luca had not killed me. Wait was that right?... I, Alvery Garnier, owed my life to a gypsy...


	5. Chapter Four

---Approximately Five Hours Later---  
-Camille's Point of View-

I marched up to Clopin's aunt, Tante Marie, with great worry and frustration in every step. She looked over at me, knowing what I was distressed about. "He'll be here, Cam, he always gets here on time in one way or another." I sat down next to her then got back up, still feeling uneasy. I started pacing, hoping that Clopin didn't do something to anger a guard or something. Even though Frollo had been killed, that didn't mean the guards had magically forgotten their hatred towards us. I stopped thinking so hard on the topic of what might have happened to Clopin when Tante Marie grabbed my wrist, holding me still. "Calm down, dear. If it will calm your nerves, why don't you try looking for him? He shouldn't be too hard to find!" I nodded as she released her grip on my wrist. I took off in the direction of Alvery's house, taking glances in the direction of the allies I past.

I started to slow as I saw a bit of bright purple inside one of the allies. I trotted down into the ally, slowing my steps to a slower pace. I looked down at a snoring Clopin. I debated on whether to gently wake him or do something to scare him awake. Well, Alvery had already given him a heart attack earlier and he is getting up in years... I bent down, shaking his shoulder. He gave a groan. I was puzzled, not because of the groan but because he had not been this exhausted in a long time. "You okay, Clopin?" Despite my constant picking on him, I'm still his best friend and I do care about him.

His eyes tiredly opened and he sat up, leaning his head against the wall and sighing. "How long until noon?" he mumbled, ignoring my question which worried me even more. "Um.. a few minutes at best." He sighed and let me help him up. I couldn't smell a trace of alcohol on him so my guess was that he was coming down with something. Deciding to test my theory, I darted down the ally. He ran after me but at a much slower pace than usual. It didn't take very long before we reached Tante Marie again who smiled at me but threw a worried look at Clopin who was breathing heavier than he was when I woke him, making me quickly regret forcing him to run. Tante Marie offered him a cup of wine to hydrate him a little bit which he quickly accepted. The bells rang, Clopin sighed, and he ran to the town's center, leaving me and Tante Marie staring after him worriedly.

--- Minutes Earlier---  
-Cerise's Point of View-

"Pleeeeease, mama?" I pouted, hoping she would give in and let me go to the festival. My mom looked down at me from doing her chores. "Cerise, I just don't want you near all those drunks. You could get hurt!" Mom always had to worry about me... "I just want to watch the gypsy man perform!" She sighed, nodding just so I would leave her alone. I squealed, hugging her leg. "Thank you, mama!" I sprinted from the kitchen before she could change her mind.

I quickly went toward where the other children were, not the drunks. The bells rang and from the corner of my eye, I saw a purple figure quickly cover himself with a black cloak. I grinned knowing he was here. "Come one!" I turned my attention to the line of people marching through the center of Paris, all wearing black. "Come all! Leave your loops and milking stools. Coup the hens and pen the mules! Come one! Come all! Close the churches and the schools! Its the day for breaking rules! Come and join the feast of....."

I saw a black cloak being quickly discarded in the back then the gypsy man slid out of the crowd of black cloaks to a few feet in front of them, toward the crowd. "FOOOOOOLS!" He howled into the sky and laughed. He began to sing by himself, going from place to place. His movements were a little shaky but it was still better than anyone else could have done. I joined in with the crowd as the song switched from him to the crowd near the middle.

" Once a year we throw a party here in town  
Once a year we turn all Paris upside down  
Ev'ry man's a king and ev'ry king's a clown  
Once again it's Topsy Turvy Day  
It's the day the devil in us gets released  
It's the day we mock the prig and shock the priest  
Ev'rything is topsy turvy at the Feast of Fools!"  
"Topsy Turvy!"  
"Ev'rything is upsy daysy!"  
"Topsy turvy!"  
"Ev'ryone is acting crazy  
Dross is gold and weeds are a bouquet  
That's the way on Topsy Turvy Day"  
"Topsy Turvy!"  
"Beat the drums and blow the trumpets!"  
"Topsy Turvy!"  
"Join the bums and thieves and strumpets  
Streaming in from Chartres to Calais  
Scurvy knaves are extra scurvy  
On the sixth of "Januervy"  
All because it's Topsy Turvy Day!"  
"Come one, come all!  
Hurry, hurry, here's your chance  
See the myst'ry and romance  
Come one, come all  
See the finest girl in France  
Make an entrance to entrance  
Dance la Esmeralda  
Dance!"

He threw his fist down and disappeared and I gasped a a pretty gypsy woman replaced him. She danced gracefully to the song as if she had danced to it all her life. When she finished her dance, the gypsy man joined her on stage, turning the attention back to himself.

"Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for  
Here it is, you know exactly what's in store  
Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore  
Now's the time we crown the King of Fools!  
So make a face that's horrible and frightening  
Make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing  
For the face that's ugliest will be the King of Fools!  
Why?"  
"Topsy Turvy!"  
"Ugly folk, forget your shyness"  
"Topsy Turvy!"  
"You could soon be called Your Highness!"  
"Put your foulest features on display  
Be the king of Topsy Turvy Day!"

Esmeralda continued to the main event of Topsy Turvy Day. She unmasked people so we could choose the ugliest of them all to be chosen as the King of Fools. I laughed along with the crowd at a slightly ugly looking guy on the stage. A smile played across the gypsies' faces as the gypsy man crowned him and leaped over our heads, wrapping up the song.

"Ev'rybody!  
Hail to the king!  
Oh, what a king!  
Girls, give a kiss"  
"We've never had a king like this"  
"And it's the day we do the things that we deplore  
On the other three hundred and sixty-four  
Once a year we love to drop in  
Where the beer is never stoppin  
For the chance to pop some popinjay  
And pick a king who'll put the "top" in  
Topsy Turvy Day!  
Mad and crazy, upsy-daisy, Topsy Turvy Day!"

I laughed as the celebration concluded and turned around to head back home when I saw the ugliest creature I have ever seen in all my life. I feel bad saying that but I thought he was some form of monster that was sent to kill me or something. I gave a a short scream of surprise and he dropped the colorful streamers he was carrying. I saw the gypsy man come over to us, smiling at the frightened creature. "Need help with those, Quasi?" The second the creature turned to look at the gypsy, I took off in the direction of my house to tell my mama about the festival and the ugly creature I ran into.

-Clopin's Point of View-

I finished putting the decorations back onto Quasi's shoulder, not rushing all too much. After I stood up, I noticed he was looking at me with concern and confusion. "Clopin, are you okay?"

"Yes," I lied. "Why do you ask?"

"You look a little paled and unsteady," he mumbled, out of hearing from the people around us.

"I'm fine," I mumbled rather harshly. He looked even more perplexed at my bitter attitude. I never was one to admit weakness easily. "I'll be in the Court, Quasi..." I caught him nodding before bounding towards the graveyard.

Frollo and the soldiers had all been killed or had never returned after the fight at Notre Dame so no one knows about the Court of Miracles any longer. Phoebus and Quasimodo are the only two "non-official" gypsies. Phoebus is always pestering me on the subject of marrying Esmeralda and Quasimodo has always been an outcast by the pale-skinned so he is a gypsy but he doesn't follow our customs.

Camille caught up with me on my way to the underground passage to the Court. She didn't say much. Only a few "How are you feeling?" 's every once in awhile. About half way through the tunnel, at a point where we had no guards stationed, my mouth started to fill with saliva. I wasn't hungry at all but then I started feeling light-headed. I remembered what happened the last time I felt like this... I steadied myself against one of the walls of the tunnel, feeling a little shaky. Camille looked over at me, worry in her eyes as she knew I was going to vomit at any moment. I motioned for her to go ahead although I knew she was going to stay right where she was, not leaving me to rot in a tunnel. Unfortunately, my guess was confirmed as she shook her head and started to rub circles on my back as I leaned toward the wall.

-Camille's Point of View-

Poor thing... It certainly doesn't improve the situation at all that he's the king. Being a man, he hates to show weakness in front of women but since he's king, he overly emphasizes that fact and has spread it towards all of his people. This includes me but he has given up on making me go away because he knew I couldn't just let him get worse with no one by him. I tried to ignore the sights and smells of the tunnels, closing my eyes and focusing on anything else. After my share of terrible men, I have learned how to escape into my own mind nearly automatically.

I didn't notice Clopin was done until he shook my shoulder. I blinked, staring at him for a couple minutes. "You okay?" I asked him, seeing how tired and weak he looked. He just nodded, his eyes going down in shame. I gave a small smile, giving him a hug, letting him rest his head on my shoulder for a minute or two. I backed up, holding onto his side to make sure he didn't decide to take a nosedive for the ground. We made our way back to the Court.

He gently removed my hand from his side so no one would get the idea he wasn't feeling well. I followed him to his tent and watched as he tossed his hat to his desk and he fell onto his bed. He opened his eyes and looked over at me, now seeming to acknowledge my existence. "I'm still going up tomorrow," he whispered. I sighed, realizing I had no say in whether he would or not. He always woke hours earlier than I did. "I'll be fine, I promise," he smiled. That wasn't a happy smile. It was just what I called his "kid smile" since that smile always reminded me of us being kids again. I just nodded, not showing much encouragement towards him as I left. Heaven knows the trouble that man can get into and I just had to cross my fingers no guard would pay him any mind tomorrow.


	6. Chapter Five

-Clopin's Point of View-

I wanted nothing more than to sleep right now but I had a show to finish. With as much of my enthusiasm as I could muster, I quickly tried to conclude the show. The usual income was offered and I turned from the window to go lie down in the back of my caravan. I heard a small knock on the wooden doors that blocked my window. Muffling a groan of annoyance, I went to the window and opened it partially, the sun still reaching my sleepy eyes. I spotted the little girl that lived in the house behind me, Cerise. "Yes, mademoiselle, how may I help you?" I asked with my voice weary from singing and my illness.

The little girl fidgeted with the note in her hands. "Um, ma souer asked me to deliver this to you…" She reached out the letter to me and waited by my window, waiting for me to reply. Not many gypsies are capable of reading or writing but, since I am the king, my father forced me to learn how to. I opened the letter casually although my curiosity grew quickly seeing as Alvery was not exactly friendly with me. I unfolded the letter which read:

_Dear Clopin,_

I apologize for my rude behavior from before, but I don't want you for a second think that you can change the way I dislike you. Although I can still hear that annoying voice of yours from my window, it's much better than seeing that idiotic smile you try to pull off. Those cold black eyes of yours show your true emotions and what I don't understand is why you would hide your emotions from the world with a mask such as a smile.

P.S. If you reply with something lovey-dovey and whatnot, I'll clobber you as soon as I my ankle has healed.

Hate you always,  
_Alvery _  
I chuckled a little at the last sentence before plucking the feather from my hat and dipping it in some ink. I began to write my response to her as legibly as I could.

-Cerise's Point of View-

I watched the puppeteer as he wrote. He was like an open book when he was writing as his face twitched with a smile or his face seemed to grow darker like a bad guy. He finished writing and handed me the letter then handed me a puppet I had never seen before. It looked like the one he had of him but it had different colors and no hat. I thanked him hurriedly and ran back inside to give everything to my sister. She looked up from her book as I entered. "The puppeteer wanted me to give you these back." I gave her the letter and the puppet. With a lot of confusion, she opened the note.

-Alvery's Point of View-

I was sure to keep the letter away from my sister. I was honestly rather shocked that he even could write back. Shrugging back the thought, I began to read the letter:

_Dear Alvery,_

You remember the smile you said you hated? Well, look at that puppet beside you, in your hand, or wherever it may be. You see it, no? Well, mademoiselle, that smile was carved in my image. Monsieur Clopin always wins!

In no way would I suspect that you liked me. Dislike seems too less of a word and hate seems too strong,…somewhere in between, no? 

_ As far as your question on my "cold black eyes" and my "idiotic smile" as you put them, my eyes are not cold as you put them but yes, I will admit my smile isn't as authentic as many would suppose. You are very wrong in saying I am hiding behind it as far as from other people. I am hiding from other experiences though, which I will not go into detail about them since you have no right to know. In fact, the only reason I am writing to you is to set your thoughts straight and, of course, your eager little delivery girl in front of me._

The Gypsy puppeteer,  
_Clopin Trouillefou_

_P.S. Won't I still get a beating whether I write something lovey-dovey or not?_

I looked over to Cerise who seemed to be babbling about some nonsense on how he looked while he was writing and how he was so expressive with this and that. Trying to refrain from rolling my eyes, I hid the note under my pillow and my eyes drifted to the puppet that was smiling creepily at me. Perhaps I wouldn't have been so afraid of it if it weren't following me with those beady little eyes. I began to wonder what experiences he might be referring to.

I decided that after dinner I would go down to the Sienne for a walk to clear my head and maybe get answers to my questions. Another reason might be to avoid that creepy little puppet that reminded me so much of someone I wished I could forget ever existed. Unfortunately, my ankle reminded me of the day he save me from that horrid thief. Sighing, I continued my stroll in the night air along the river where I would soon get some unexpected company.

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I'm reeeally sorry to those who were following this and wanted me to continue it. Unfortunately, school and sports and everything else got in the way. I'm trying to get these chapters posted as quick as possible but reviews _really_ encourage me and make my days filled with rainbows and unicorns. =)


	7. Chapter Six

-Phoebus' Point of View-

I was wandering about the city trying to find Esmeralda. Frustration was coming over me as I had been searching for a few hours now and she was no where in sight. I went toward the Sienne now, hoping she went down there although she rarely did. When I looked up from walking down the hill, I saw, what I thought to be, Esmeralda. I came towards her and was about to address her when the woman quickly turned around and kicked me between the legs.

The only sound I could manage was a high-pitch exhale. Once I was able to form words, I asked, "What was that for, Esmeralda?" Once I asked this, I looked up to see blazing blue eyes staring at me with confusion. Esmeralda's signature green eyes were no where to be found. "Oh, my apologies," I exclaimed, standing up now and wishing to God that my voice would change back to its normal pitch, "I thought you were someone else."

I almost flinched at the glare she was giving me. It could almost be as deadly as Frollo's was. "Causing trouble again, Phoebus?" A warm voice asked nearly right against my ear from behind. I jumped, turning swiftly around and glaring when I found it to be Esmeralda.

-Esmeralda's Point of View-

I tried my best to copy Phoebus' aggressive glare and his position. The woman he was talking to, obviously not a gypsy by her clothing style, took in my outfit and his plain one and proceeded to ask him, "You're a gypsy?

I saw Phoebus grin a little, "I will be once "his majesty" will let me marry Esmeralda."

I resumed my glare to him for making this seem like a joke. "Phoebus, he isn't _that_ bad. Just give him some time. He's had to deal with every crush I've ever had and now he's just making sure that I chose the right man I want to stay with forever. The fact you haven't abandoned the marriage yet proves that you are still willing to marry me."

We continued this conversation as if the woman behind him weren't listening at all. "Esme, you know that I love you and I would do anything to keep you out of harms way."

I sighed a little. "I know that but do you know how hard it is to change his mind? Unless you are tight friends with him, it is difficult to affect his decisions." I looked over to the woman who was standing there out of interest to our conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry. You probably don't know what we're talking about. Well, you see, fathers normally give the daughter away in marriages but the king, meaning the King of Gypsies, gives m away instead since my father has long since passed.

"I thought I said no formal names," a voice interrupted from the shadows. I looked to one of the small supports for the bridge over the Sienne to see a figure sitting there and listening to every word. That little sneak has to hear everything, doesn't he?

(**Small Author's Note** here since there was a question about Clopin: He isn't critically ill but after working while he's sick, it really doesn't help him much. Hope I cleared up some confusion but more will be explained a little later.)

-Clopin's point of view-

I came down from my place in the shadows, catching myself as I stumbled forward slightly. I was watching Phoebus who was as nervous as a jackrabbit during hunting season. "Sir, I, uh, you see..." He sighed in defeat, unable to correct he said.

I held up a hand to him. "Calm down, Phoebus. You weren't aware I was there so no harm done." Normally, I wouldn't be so courteous but he didn't really say anything all that bad except for his obvious frustration over the delay on their marriage.

Esmeralda was glaring at me from behind him before laying her eyes on him kindly. "Come, Phoebus. Perhaps we can get in a private conversation in," she cooed to him but when she said private she glanced at me. I laughed a little as they walked away.

I turned my eyes to Alvery and tried to get a conversation started. "Your ankle has healed for the most part, I see." She just nodded awkwardly. I smiled a little, feeling a little superior at that moment. "You're quite a ways from home, no?" I didn't notice how odd that question was until I had said it but I left it there. She, once again, nodded. Her mind seemed to be wandering through her thoughts. "So, um…"

She looked over at me now and seemed to want some answers which I wouldn't mind giving her with my own boundaries. "You're the King of Gypsies?" I figured she would be shocked since most kings are a little bit more… regal looking. I simply nodded, trying to mimic her actions from earlier. "Don't you get tired of wearing the same thing all the time?"

I just laughed at the question. I had accidentally stayed in my colorful outfit after work. "No, mademoiselle, I don't stay in the same clothes all the time. I have different apparel for after work. You just caught me wearing my working clothes after work." She nodded, looking up the hill that lead toward the bridge as she did so.

My smile dropped immediately as her eyes widened in fear and she stepped back a little. I looked where she was looking to see two guards coming our way. This couldn't end well… I ran towards her, adrenaline fueling me, and swept her off her feet and ran to the nearest form of sanctuary. To Notre Dame Cathedral we had to go…


	8. Chapter Seven

-Alvery's Point of View-

What is with these gypsies and liking to take me hostage? I mean, in all honesty, it is getting quite tiresome! Clopin put me down once we were inside the Notre Dame Cathedral. I turned to look at him only to see him bended over, hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath. By the light of the candles in the church, I saw his thin figure shaking. He straightened himself up after a moment or two and avoided eye contact with me as he walked to a back room in the church.

He led me to the room we would be staying in. It was a small stone room with a rag covering the entrance which led to a small fire set up and some pillows and blankets not far from it. Clopin's eyes were focused on the intense blaze of the fire as he sat near it, warming his gloved hands over the flames. "Are you feeling better, my child?" asked someone from behind us. I jumped and turned to see it being the archdeacon addressing Clopin. Wait… Did he say feeling better? Clopin was sick while carrying me all this way?

Clopin's dark eyes were fixed on the archdeacon, giving him a harsh glare. The archdeacon, to my surprise, responded with a gentle smile. "Clopin, there is no need to grow angry with me only because you think your dignity will be lost if you tell this young lady that your ill," he murmured, sitting down and placing a hand on his shoulder. Clopin just sighed in return and removed his hat from his head and began to rub his forehead from what I figured to be a headache.

I tried to change the mood and also the focus off of Clopin's illness as he didn't seem to want to talk about it. "So when will I be able to go home?"

He fixed his eyes on the fire again. The orange glow was beautifully reflecting in his black eyes. "I could get you home tomorrow most likely. The guards are probably still looking for us right now and more gypsies would be awake tomorrow so I would be able to get you home faster without a guard questioning it," he whispered, his chin now resting on his knees.

I grimaced slightly at the plan. "What will I tell my parents?"

"That's not my problem," he snapped, his cold gaze now focused on me. The archdeacon nudged Clopin's shoulder. Clopin glanced at him and his gaze was a little calmer and even sleepy looking as he returned back to watching the fire.

The archdeacon motioned for me to follow him to the side and I nodded, following him and leaving Clopin near the fire. "You mustn't hold a grudge against Clopin for his behavior. He's just trying to come off as independent and strong. He doesn't mean to be harsh but his illness is making him more defensive about his dignity. Oh, and by the way, you may want to watch yourself around him." Saying this, I noted, he wasn't very concerned for me but he said this with a calm expression as if everyone knew this.

"What do you mean by 'watch myself'? Is he trying to kill me or something because if he did, I'm positive he's had more than one opportunity?"

He just laughed at this. "No, my dear, what I mean by it is that Clopin, sick or not, is very… flirtatious, I suppose the word is. He's very sly about it but he will try to keep you under his little spell unless you reject him or merely don't return with what he wants. Clopin is kind, don't get me wrong, but he likes to try and take advantage of women, rich or poor. I've seen how you treat him and it serves him right since he deserves that had of his to be pulled out of the clouds." he chuckled.

I nodded with a small smile and looked to where Clopin was sitting. I say was since he was now collapsed amongst a small pile of pillows with a thin blanket over him and his snoring sounding as loud as usual. "How can a man with such a pure voice be able to snore like that?" I wondered out loud. The archdeacon laughed a little at my bluntness and maybe my humor a little bit.

After a little bit of silence, (besides Clopin's snoring) I looked back at the archdeacon. "Do you think, I may be able to make a confession?" He seemed shocked by the abruptness of it but, nonetheless, he nodded and pulled me farther away from Clopin in case he was faking sleep.

"What do you wish to confess to the Lord?"

"Well, I... may have killed someone a long time ago…" I murmured, trying my best to keep eye contact with him.

He nodded to show he was listening. "Well as far as a penance goes… To determine it, may I ask what your intentions were or what happened exactly?"

I nodded, wringing my hands and looking back to his face. "It was really dark outside and I saw this gypsy boy and his mother going through the town through one of the side roads that lead to me house. They were arguing about something and I saw the mother suddenly throw the boy to the ground. I hid at first and watched as she took a dagger form the netting on her legs and dragged it down from his shoulder to his knee and she used this scarf to muffle his cries…" My eyes were pouring tears at the memory by this point and the archdeacon put a hand on my back, trying to be as comforting as possible. "So, I-I reached down to get my dagger and ran towards her and stabbed her. She fell to the cobblestone and I went to check on the gypsy boy but he ran off. I chased him but he was faster than me. I'm not really sure if the mother died or not…"

He nodded and began to speak again. "Your penance is to try and be nice to the gypsies. After all, you may have murdered one of their kind. Even though she may have hurt her own son, she didn't deserve death but I do think some sort of lesser punishment was in order. As I said, try and be nicer to the gypsies. Even Clopin. He may need his head pulled out of the clouds but that doesn't mean to be completely hostile towards him."

I nodded and thanked him before wandering to the fire again, putting it out carefully and lying down. I fell asleep to the sound of the wood falling on each other as it crumbled into ash and Clopin's constant snoring as he dreamed peacefully.

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**Author's note**: Oh snap! Plot twist!!! Let me know what you think! Reviews are much loved and treasured and put in a display case =)


	9. Chapter Eight

-Clopin's Point of View-

I got up groggily the next morning. For some reason I wasn't expecting to be sleeping on the rock floor of the cathedral when I awoke so when I rolled over to get up, my cheek met the freezing floor. I pushed myself to my knees and sat there awhile until I noticed Alvery struggling in her sleep. My eyes still drooping in sleepiness, I reached over and shook her gently.

She sprang up, her eyes wide and her small gasp echoing in our surroundings. Whatever sleep was left in me was gone now that I saw her shaking terribly and nearly on the verge of tears. I crawled over to her slowly, balancing now on my toes. "Are you all right, mademoiselle?"

"Y-yeah, I just had a, um, nightmare was all," she muttered, embarrassed and still scared at the same time. I just nodded, bringing myself to my feet. "Are we able to leave yet?"

I shrugged to her. "I'm getting up now to check." She only nodded a little back as she got up and began to fold the blankets we were sleeping with and putting them back on the cushions. Once I glanced outside to make sure no soldiers were on the prowl for us specifically, which I was nearly positive there wouldn't be, I headed back inside and gave the okay for us to leave. "I'll walk you home in case any guards give you trouble," I offered and we began on our way towards her house with me as the lead. I took us through the back alleys of the city where my people were talking, sleeping, laughing, drinking, and eating merrily on their brief break.

"Where are you taking me, gypsy? This isn't the way to my house," Alvery stated to me as if I had lost my mind.

"It certainly is. You just normally take the crowded way and I take the shortcut," I corrected her. She seemed to have made eye contact with Luca, the one who broke her ankle accidentally. She was so locked on him that she obviously didn't see the uneven brick beneath her feet that she tripped on which caused her skirts to fly up. I thought briefly that she deserved it but decided against it and quickly covered her undergarments, pushing the skirts down to cover her again.

Camille's Point of View

Hearing the commotion ahead, I rushed forward to see what all the men were laughing at. I watched as a small smirk appeared on Clopin's face before the knowledge hit him to cover Alvery. She was blushing horribly and was covering her face with her hands. Feeling anger boil up in me, I threw an apple core at Luca, the idiot who was laughing the hardest. He toppled over backwards and the men around him quickly quieted. I gave a small snort of disgust to them before taking Alvery by the wrist and guiding her after me.

"Cam," I heard Clopin call from behind me. I continued to walk hurriedly. Of course, dragging a girl with you who couldn't keep up with my speed wasn't helping and Clopin caught up to us, jogging backwards mind you. "Aw, come on, Camille, don't blame me for this! I didn't trip her, honest!"

I stopped then and stared him right into his eyes that were showing nothing but sorrow and asking for forgiveness that I was determined not to give. "Don't play dumb, Clopin. You were pleased when she fell, I could see it on your face," I snarled at him, shoving him into an old crate that broke on impact. He brushed himself off and caught up with us.

"Cam, don't judge me for acting like any man would," he whined. I heard a higher pitch voice respond, "Who said you were a man?" I turned to see, none other than, Puppet on Clopin's hand. He knew it was difficult for me to stay angry if he pulled out that stupid puppet of his. Clopin flexed an arm as a response to Puppet's question. "Look at these muscles," he emphasized although his arm remained a stick. "Oh yes, the might muscles," the puppet commented sarcastically. Clopin frowned and Alvery and I giggled.

His face lit up and he put Puppet away. He hugged me tightly and I let go of Alvery's wrist. We made our way back to her house, laughing and even singing once in awhile. Alvery didn't mind it much since I suppose she figured that we always act like this so there is no point in arguing against it!

We arrived at her house and Clopin knocked lightly on the door. A tall-ish, average weight woman answered the door. She looked as if she had been crying, no doubt out of worry. Upon seeing Alvery, she embraced her which left Alvery staring awkwardly and me and Clopin. We smiled lightly in return. Before we could take a step to leave, we had our arms twisted behind our backs and I yelped in pain. "How dare you two kidnap my daughter," an aggressive male voice yelled in our ears.

Hearing the situation at hand, two guards headed our way. "Is there a problem here, sir?" The man twisting our arms answered with the story he believed to be true of us kidnapping her. The guards took us from him and walked us toward the Palace of Justice. I looked over at Clopin who was gazing over at the Palace of Justice with a look I've never seen him give to anything since his father's death. Clopin looked to be dead himself as he gazed at the structure, his eyes looking empty and his face blank. I hope what was to come wouldn't be death. I seemed to be the only one between the two of us to think that.

**Author's note: **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! By the way, reviews make me write more because I know if people are really interested. Oh, and thank you to pendras cornielius for the great feedback! Referring to your comment in chapter 5: He really is that ill and with this next chapter, his disease will get worse.


	10. Chapter Nine

-Clopin's Point of View-

I watched at Camille was lead to the left staircase in the Palace of Justice while I went to the right. I had come here so many times that I have the whole place nearly mapped out. To the left, where Cam was going, were the cells. The right was the torture chamber. I walked up the stairs reluctantly and was the shoved, more for amusement than need.

I was quickly stripped of most of my clothing and the soldiers had fun bringing whips down on my bare back. I vowed to try not to scream but it couldn't be helped as I felt blood starting to go down my back. I began to scream with every lash after that and after about two days, they finally stopped the torture. I blacked out and awoke, wincing at the great pain that struck through my back and ribs as I faintly remembered being kicked by a metal foot at some point.

I looked to the cell next to me to see Camille, watching me sleepily. "You were knocked out for awhile there, Clop," she whispered. I crawled a little towards where our bars met and rested my head against them. She began to stroke my forehead and into my hair. "You're burning up with a fever though it's no surprise. You were sleeping on a grimy prison floor for two or threes days…"

I let her keep petting me for awhile until I felt a terrible churning in my stomach. I jerked back a little from her and she threw me a worried look. I knelt and went toward the wall then threw a glance at Camille. "It's all right, I won't look," she stated giving me ease to clear my stomach. After vomiting for awhile, I finally backed off the wall and collapsed into sleep on the filthy floor again.

* * *

When I awoke, I was being dragged through the Palace of Justice in chains, the guards kicking me to get moving. Camille was at my side. She was keeping pace but they kicked her for the heck of it all. We got outside, both of us were blinded a minute or so because of the sunlight. We were being lead to the gallows, an ever famous place for "disposing" of gypsies. I sighed, nearly leaning on the guard holding my hands together once we reached the wooden platform.

I heard multiple shouts from the crowd now surrounding the platform as the bottom. Most were referring to me. "Who will be entertaining my children now?", "They are innocent!", and "What did they do to deserve this?" were among the many things being shouted. Some were on board with us being hanged. I looked into the crowd and met the eyes of Alvery's father who was saying nothing. He held a defensive and powerful stance but the widening of his eyes showed that he didn't think we would get hanged for this. I barely noticed the rope being placed around my neck until I turned my head to the new Captain of the Guard.

He was the replacement of our beloved Dweebus. I had to admit though; this guy wasn't very intimidating without the power to pull the lever. He looked over at me, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Well, if it isn't the King of Gypsies and his faithful little sidekick," he announced, the crowd growing quieter. I looked at him through my hair that was slightly covering my face. "Well, fortunately for you gypsies, the crowd seems to be mostly on your side. How 'bout we make a little bet?" he asked, looking directly at me. I waited there motionless, waiting for him to speak again. "If a Parisian woman will take you as her husband, you and the gypsy woman shall be spared. Deal?" I thought this over briefly. There was no downside. If I said no then I would get death immediately anyway. I nodded and sighed as I listened to the women talking among themselves about who would marry me. I knew none of them would want our life willingly.

I heard the Captain of the Guard start up again, still amused. "Will anyone take this gypsy's hand in marriage?" His voice was laced with mockery. "How about you, Armandine? You have two single daughters," he teased. I saw the woman I knew as Alvery's mother tense and glare at him.

-Alvery's Point of View-

I watch with tear-filled eyes as I watched Clopin and Camille get put into nooses. I felt guilt ever since they were arrested and it prevented me from any sleep. Cerise sat on my bed. She had given up trying to look out the window. For one, she was too short. Secondly, she was too young. Third, I wouldn't let her. She knew what was going to happen and she wasn't happy at all about it.

"What's happening now, Alv?

I sighed. "I don't know. The Captain of the Guard said something that struck up a lot of conversation."

Cerise asked the first thing that came to her mind. "Do you think they're going to hang him, Alv?" she asked quietly.

"I really hope not. They didn't kidnap me. I ran into him that night and some guard thought we were both gypsies. He carried me to Notre Dame and the next morning we ran into Camille on the way here. Dad saw them with me and thought the worse." I sunk to the floor and watched as Cerise ran from the room. I assumed she went to go do something to take her mind off of the situation but I was far from right. She came back with a bag and began to pack some of my favorite items and clothes. I looked at her in confusion. "Cerise, what are you-"

Cerise handed me the bag. "Alv, I might only be eight but I can tell who's in love with whom. You might always tease him and make fun of him to his face and he returns it, but you love him. I know you do and I bet you he hopes you do too. If you go up to the stage and request to marry him, they might let him and Camille go. If not, at least Clopin will know how you feel about him." I nodded and picked up the bag and ran down the stairs and out the door. I only hope I could make it in time.

-Clopin's Point of View-

"Well, gypsy, it seems you are out of luck. No woman will take you. So, men on my mark, pull the lever for the gypsy king's trapdoor. One, two, and... three!" The lever was pulled and I hanged there. Fortunate for me and my life, my father had taught me a way to hang in a noose without my neck snapping immediately. I was gasping for breath as my feet had no support and I was hanging on the rope. This kept me alive but it would only work for so long. I gasped for breath, my air supply getting shorter and shorter...

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**Author's note: **It is not over yet! It is far from over! Review please =)


	11. Chapter Ten

-Alvery's Point of View-

I ran up to the stage, seeing both Camille and Clopin struggling in their nooses, both of their faces changing colors. "Wait," I screeched from a distance. The captain of the guard pulled the lever the opposite direction and they were standing again. They both were gasping for breath and leaning their chins on the nooses. "I-I'll marry him," I stuttered out nervously, the crowd's eyes on me.

I saw the captain's eyes widen, probably surprised someone would bother marrying him to save them. Clopin looked as if he would refuse if he could breathe but he couldn't and so the captain granted my request and the soldiers left, only unbinding them and leaving them there. Two gypsies in the crowd hopped up and helped them.

A motherly looking woman was helping Clopin and smiled at me and tilted her head, giving me signal to follow. I nodded and followed the woman, Clopin, Camille, and a scrawny man helping Camille to a graveyard. Once there, they removed the gravestone off one of the larger tombs. Instead of a body inside, it was a set of stairs.

We descended the stairs into a tunnel of sewage, moving at a rather slow pace so that Camille and Clopin could keep pace. The two were beginning to get their breathing back on track when we were supposedly almost at the Court of Miracles. I felt someone grab my shoulder and I shrieked, jumping toward Clopin and the older woman.

Camille laughed a little, still leaning on the man. I didn't see what was so humorous about a bunch of living skeletons. "What are you guys trying to do? Scare our future queen?" Camille giggled. The skeletons laughed and took off their masks to reveal other gypsies in disguises, making me feel foolish.

-Clopin's Point of View-

I smiled a little at the scene while many of the men laughed loudly. I waved my hand and they nodded with smiles and went back to their hiding places. Alvery stayed closer to us now that she was nearly scared to death. We arrived in the Court of Miracles finally, me leaning on Tante Marie nearly the entire way.

"Let's get you off to the baths, Clopin," she whispered to me in Romani. I nodded and she let me hobble beside her and over to the tents containing the baths.

I raised my eyes to look at her. "Where are they taking Alvery?" I asked with a sore voice.

She smiled at me, guiding me to one of the unoccupied tents. "I'm sure Camille will take good care of her. I'll make breakfast for you, Camille, and Alvery tomorrow and perhaps we can get this sorted out…"

I tilted my head in confusion. "Sort what out?"

She looked at me puzzled, questioning herself. "Didn't they say she would have to marry you in order to save you?"

I looked down. "Well then perhaps once Cam and I have healed a bit we can start on a bit of a preparation. Just alert everyone, find a jug, and we'll have the wedding." She nodded and helped me strip my clothing then helping me into a bath. I winced as the warm water touched all the wounds from the strikes I received. She left to get some bandages and within an hour or two, I walked back to my tent with little support.

I looked over at Cam before I entered. She was seated on a crate not that far away. "Where's Alvery?" I asked, my eyes skimming the court.

"I killed her," Cam mumbled. My eyes went to her, widening. She gave a small, weak laugh. "Relax, Clop. She's in one of the unoccupied tents near the women's side." I just nodded and walked into my tent, landing comfortably on my bed. Tante Marie must have gotten the word around quickly since I had a bed made for two under my body now.

I lied my head down, pulling the covers around me as my eyes scanned the tent. I wouldn't have this tent just to myself much longer. I always liked the company though.

I saw my hat resting on the bed post nearest my head. I brushed my tan fingers along the brim of it. It was a little tattered and torn but still a magnificent hat none the less. It had been passed through my family for generations. I would wear this hat to my wedding for sure. It would make me feel like my father was still there for me. I began to feel my eyes close and enveloped myself in the soft sheets and the mattress beneath me.

**Author's Note-** Reviews are always loved!


	12. Chapter Eleven

-**Alvery's Point of View** –

I woke early the next morning. I hadn't been sleeping well ever since that night in Notre Dame with Clopin. It was the same nightmare every night of that gypsy woman and Clopin standing there at the end, watching in horror. I exited the tent I was given and looked around.

Of course, since it was so early, most were still sleeping but those who were awake were stumbling around tiredly making breakfast or switching guard duty. I walked past some of them. Most of the people looking over at me with small smiles but a majority of the women looked at me warily and nearly angrily.

I noticed the woman who had helped Clopin off the stage and into the Court of Miracles. I heard her say something in another language earlier but I wasn't sure if she spoke French. Besides, I didn't know if she would be friendly or not. She might have helped Clopin but he is the king so I suppose most of this Court would do anything for him.

She must have felt me staring at her since she looked up from the fire and walked over to me. "Good morning. You're name is Alvery. right?" Her black eyes looked into mine with almost a motherly glow to them. I was still shocked she could speak my language so I just nodded. She smiled at me. "Well, since you're marrying Clopin you might as well call me Tante Marie since that is what he usually calls me."

"You're Clopin's tante?"

She nodded to me and began to walk away. I stood there, a little baffled until she turned around for me to follow. I quickly caught up with her and we continued walking wherever we were headed. I glanced over at her. "Where are we going if I may ask?"

She looked over at me as if coming out of a trance. "Oh, we are going to go see your fiancé. He gave me the biggest scare yesterday. If you hadn't hopped up on that stage…" She paused, her eyes down again before looking up and continuing to walk quietly. We remained silent until she stopped at a purple tent that had several gold lines running along the sides.

We walked in the tent and I looked around. It was much larger than my tent was. His bed was larger as well, no doubt built for two ever since they heard word of the marriage. I looked over at the sheets that seemed to be tangled around a snoring mess. "Does he always snore so loud?" I asked, looking over to his aunt.

She looked over at me with a smile. "Not usually. If he's in pain or sick he'll snore louder but usually it's just a rumble." I frowned. "Dear, you'll have to get used to it if you'll be married to him for long." I gave her a confused look. I thought that we would be married until death.

She must have noticed my confused look and quickly caught on. "Alvery, we are gypsies. We aren't exactly the major catholic congregation. We have our own traditions which include a jug wedding. Meaning, we have a speaker which is kind of like a priest but it could be anyone who is usually the king but since he is the one getting married, it will probably be me or one of his siblings."

"We break a jug afterword to see how many years you'll be married based on how many pieces the jug is broken into. We then have a celebration due to our king being married and it is a rather big deal since he will have heirs. We just drink a lot of wine and other alcohol. You two will stay until one of you decides to head back to the tent for the…well, final activity of the night," she muttered. I felt my cheeks warm in a blush and I looked over at Clopin in the soft light of the candle Tante Marie lit on his nightstand.

She approached his bedside and shook his shoulder lightly. "Clopin, wake up," she whispered. He raised his head groggily, wiped his eyes, and glanced over at me before sitting up slowly. He had white bandages wrapped around his torso.

He looked over at Tante Marie, stretching a little as he began to speak. "Am I supposed to work today, Tante Marie?"

She laughed a little. "I think you are delusional, my dear. You were just beaten yesterday. I think you need a bit of a break from work. He shrugged and leaned back sleepily. "Would you like some breakfast?" His eyes were lively at the mention of food and he sat up immediately causing her to chuckle. "It's just food or sleep with you, Clopin, isn't it?"

He beamed a smile at her that I caught in the faint light. "You know me all too well," he responded, a light laugh at the end. He climbed out of the bed and ducked his head into the shadows and I heard the sound of a chest opening. "Would you two mind letting me change in private?" Tante Marie smiled and took my hand, leading me back to her tent.

-**Camille's Point of View**-

I walked out of my tent, listening to the usual gossip of the day which, of course, focused on Alvery. Bored beyond belief of the conversation, I looked over people's head to try and find Clopin. Nothing could cure my boredom more than annoying him or anyone for that matter. I smiled as I spotted him near Tante Marie.

He seemed to be having a normal conversation with his aunt while eating breakfast. I looked over to Alvery who seemed either very interested in what Clopin was saying or was just looking him over. I made my way toward Clopin and snatched his hat off his head, twirling it on my finger and smiling at him when he rose an eyebrow at me in irritation. "Bonjour, mon ami," I greeted, sitting down beside Alvery.

He frowned. "Camille, give me my hat back," he mumbled and I shrugged, throwing it at him. The conversations died and it was silent for a few minutes until Clopin did what he normally did at times like this: bring out the puppets.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry about not updating this in forever! I hope you guys like the update. =) Reviews are always loved. Criticism allowed. No flames.


	13. Chapter Twelve

-Tante Marie's Point of View-

Clopin turned Puppet, the one that resembled himself, towards Alvery who rose an eyebrow to it. "Ha! I knew you would get me a girlfriend," the Puppet exclaimed excitedly.

"She's not for you!"  
"I could please her better than you! You get insults thrown at you and I get laughter!"  
"She's not interested!"  
"Who do you think she was staring at during our shows, me or the big-nosed goof?"  
"At least my voice doesn't sound like its on helium!"  
"At least I can please a woman!"  
"Yeah right! I would love to see you try!"  
"Well if you'd give me a girlfriend-"

Camille interrupted the conversation between my nephew and the puppet. "Clopin?"

I saw Clopin look over at her, biting back his usual grin and glaring at her in irritation. "Camille, we were having a conversation here!" Alvery giggled and Clopin hid his puppet again.

Camille rolled her eyes at him. "Can you just give me a little more detail on the wedding so I can plan?"

Clopin looked at her in confusion. "What do you need to plan? We need a jug, a small audience, and a speaker. Then, we just need some alcohol for after the short ceremony and that's really it..."

Camille glanced over at Alvery then looked back over to Clopin. "I think that Alvery might want her wedding day to be a little nicer than that..." He stared at her questioningly. "I just wanted to get her up a little earlier and I could make her look all pretty and gypsy-like," Camille rambled a little, smiling.

Clopin shrugged which was a usual, 'Fine, I see no problem with it,' gesture from him. Camille smiled and repeated her original question to which the husband and wife to be argued over. Alvery wanted a wedding that was later while Clopin wanted one that was sooner.

Clopin ended up winning the argument by telling her that if anyone were to find out that they weren't married soon in Paris, Clopin may be punished since people might think he killed her. Although she seemed reluctant, Alvery agreed and the set date was in two days.

-Clopin's Point of View-

I frowned as I noticed Alvery's discomfort at the wedding being so soon. I assumed she was more concerned on the wedding night than the actual wedding. I asked for her to talk with me privately and she nodded,following me to my tent. "Alvery, are you all right? You look very pale. Well, paler than usual," I added with a small smile.

She gave a small, weak smile back. "I'm just very... overwhelmed right now."

I nodded. "Understandable. It isn't every day that we have someone in the Court of Miracles who isn't a gypsy." As I spoke, I sat her down beside me on a trunk. I tried to keep her hands still as they were shaking along with the rest of her. "I know you must be frightened and everything is just going very fast but I promise that after the next two days, I will try my best to keep everything much calmer. You hands are freezing, you know this?" I asked, now noticing that she may also be shaking since she wasn't wearing very heavy clothing.

I removed my gloves and placed my tan, warm hands on her small and trembling ones. I took a small chance and wrapped one of my arms around her, knowing that I was just a naturally warm person. She relaxed after a little while and eventually looked up at me. I pulled her a little closer and kissed her gently. When we pulled back, I noticed a smile she didn't want me to see. I knew this because she ducked her head and leaned it on my shoulder again.

After several silent minutes of comfortable silence, I told her how she would need to learn our language, what we do about intruders, and my hope for the future of our relationship. She listened to all of this and took it all in. She asked when she would be able to learn Romani which I responded that I could teach her although I may be able to find her someone who is better at teaching than I am.

We made our way back to our little circle again. I remembered Alvery's clothing when she sat beside Camille again and began to shiver a little. "Tante Marie, would you like the honor of transforming Alvery into a gypsy?" I asked enthusiastically while she looked like she was going to oppose. "Either you do it or I do it," I quickly said, making her roll her eyes and guide Alvery toward the tents. I caught a few words of her complaining about me to her.

Camille and I carried on a conversation as usual about random gossip floating around that, no surprise, included Alvery somewhere in it. She also alerted me about my previous girlfriends being angry about my marriage. I knew that most of the groups of women were separated by age and by which ones will willingly hold a conversation with their king.

After about an hour or so, Tante Marie was walking over to us with Alvery who created a very goofy smile on my face at how wonderful she looked. She approached in a white blouse, navy blue and sky blue striped bodice, and a blue that was in between the shade of navy blue and sky blue as the color of the skirt. As I scanned my eyes over her, I dropped my smile a little as I noticed something missing.

-Alvery's Point of View-

I looked over at Tante Marie as Clopin stated about there being a flaw in my outfit. I wasn't a gypsy and I didn't really know what was missing in my wardrobe. Tante Marie grinned at him. "I thought you would like the honor of adding the final piece." I was anxious to see what it would be. I saw her hand him something but I wasn't sure what since their hands were covering it.

"Gee, thanks," he muttered under his breath as he looked up at me. "Hey, Alvery, can you come here? I have a secret for you," he mumbled, looking around nervously. I bent down and went close to him. "No, no closer." I looked straight at him and moved until we were about a few inches form each other. "A little closer," he whispered, leaning toward my ear. I turned my head and moved a little closer to him, offering my ear to hear him.

Without me noticing until it was done, he reached up quickly and pierced it which cause me to shriek and stumble back. This caused many to look over at us. My heartbeat rang in my ears and I reached for my burning ear and I felt a metal hoop inside it. "You took that much better than I expected," Clopin commented as if it were nothing.

Camille chanted near me to injure him but Clopin was gone before I had the chance to, laughing his way out of the Court. I looked over at Tante Marie. "Why would he need to pierce my ear?"

"Before a couple marries, a man has two earrings and a woman has one. When they wed, they trade so the man has one and the woman has two. So, in two days, you will be receiving another one." I reached up to the earring again. This earring, a simple piece of jewelery, classified me as a gypsy.

**Author's Note:** Yes, I finally wrote a chapter... If there is anyone you like from this story (OC or HoND character) that you want to see more of or less of, let me know =) Reviews are loved as always!


	14. Chapter Thirteen

-Alvery's Point of View-

I looked over at Clopin's hat that lied there abandoned beside Camille who picked it up, twirling it. "He has to come back for this..." As she said this, I noticed those black eyes of his staring at me from behind a tent. Cam turned around, catching me staring at him. "Clopin, get over here," she commanded. The eyes rose an eyebrow to her then to me.

Tante Marie laughed a little which caught our attention. "That's not Clopin! I can't believe either you could mistake him. Adrian, that's you, right?"

The man who the black eyes belonged to walked out from behind the tent and towards us. The only differences between him and Clopin were that his hair was slightly shorter, his garb completely different, and his face a little shorter. His smile, eyes, facial expressions, and build was the same. He approached Tante Marie. "You bet! So, Tante Marie, my brother didn't invite me to the hanging OR the wedding?"

She smiled at him. "I suppose he didn't!"

Clopin appeared from behind the same tent Adrian was behind a few seconds ago. "I really didn't have much time to fetch you for either one," he countered, approaching his brother and ruffling his hair. Clopin turned his attention to me. "Alvery, this is my brother Adrian. Adrian, this is my fiancee, Alvery."

Adrian lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it while I offered a smile back. "It's a pleasure, mademoiselle," he greeted with the same smile as his brother. I returned the greeting and looked over to Clopin as his brother walked back to him. "I didn't know you had siblings, Clopin," I said to him teasingly since we both knew that I knew very little about him.

He smiled at me. "But of course, ma cherie, most gypsies have rather large families to help with bringing in money as well as more hands to help with chores!" I looked at him, a little confused. "Only one sibling is a large family?" Both men laughed at this, Clopin shaking his head. "Surely not! I have five siblings total," he declared. "Speaking of which, where are they?" He asked this in general, glancing around the area.

As if on cue, a little girl ran over and wrapped her arms around him. She looked to be about seven or eight years old though she did bear a certain resemblance to her brothers although she was much quieter. "Ah, Céleste, there you are," Clopin exclaimed, kneeling down to hug her. "Where's everyone else at?"

She glanced at me curiously for a second before turning back to Clopin. She replied to him in, what I assumed to be, Romani. He nodded and looked over at Adrien. "Who's Avery?"

Adrien laughed. "That's right, you haven't met him yet. He's your nephew," he smiled, looking behind them. "Well, you'll soon be meeting him." Approaching us was a woman with black, curly hair and dark brown eyes with a little boy clinging to her. He had very light hair but the dark brown eyes of his mother. Next to them was a man who didn't look like much of a gypsy besides the clothing he was wearing.

Clopin smiled at the three before directing his attention to the woman. "It's been a long time since I've seen you," he grinned, looking over at the child who shrank back. The woman was muttering some words to him to try and calm him. Clopin whipped out one of his puppets. "Don't be afraid of him, Avery. He's just a big-nosed freak causing trouble!" The boy smiled a little. The puppet threw up one of his fists. "I'll protect you!" It turned to Clopin, shifting as if stepping from foot to foot. "Bring it on, big-nose! I can take you," it squeaked, causing Avery to giggle.

Aishe was smiling herself but in a mocking manner that always came with siblings. "You still haven't gotten rid of that old thing, Clopin? I thought you had given up dolls by now," she teased, causing the other siblings to laugh. A man walked over who seemed to be only a few years younger than me. His dark hair reached only up to his ears. Following him was a woman who looked to be of the same age who had skin darker than most of them, close to Clopin's shade, and had wavy black hair.

Clopin had apparently hid the puppet since the last I looked at him since he didn't have them when those two approached. "Thank you for joining us, you two," Clopin said in almost a fatherly fashion.

The boy smirked at him. "We heard something about a man still playing with dolls so we figured you would be over here," he teased, Clopin glaring a little at him though it seemed that he was used to being teased about this by now. "Anyway," the boy interrupted before Clopin could let a word escape his mouth, "don't you think some introductions are needed here," he asked, looking at me.

Clopin nodded. "Well, siblings, this is Alvery and she and I will be marrying soon so play nice," he said, giving a pointed look to Adrian. "Alvery this is," he took a big breath before beginning to emphasize the size of this family, "Adrian," he held his hand over the brother he had been arguing with, "Aishe," he held his hand over his sister which he then proceeded to point to the Parisian looking man, "her husband Acelet and their son Avery," he looked over to the two who were late, "Nicu and Nadya, the twins, and last but not least Céleste," he said, scooping up the little girl and tickling her, causing a loud giggle to escape form her mouth.

I scanned my eyes over the family and they looked to be very close disregarding their small rivalries. In the next several minutes, we began a few conversations which mostly had to do with their travels and how they were fairing. Everyone was now sitting down around the fire. Clopin sat beside me, the twins and Céleste sitting on his side, the rest of his family on my other side and we left an opening for Tante Marie and Camille since they had gone off to set up for the wedding.

Camille had come over about a half an hour or so later. "Clopin, everything is set up for the wedding. Tante Marie was wondering if tomorrow would be fine," she asked, telling us the information that startled me slightly. I wasn't ready to wed within two days let alone by less than one!

I knew I had a visible negative reaction to that information since Clopin had grabbed my hand, stroking it gently. "Whether it's sooner or later, time won't make you any less worried about it. Better get it done and over with than anticipate it," he whispered to me. He looked over at Camille. "Tell Tante Marie that tomorrow sounds just lovely if she thinks she can handle Alvery," he teased lightly, causing me to smile. Camille giggled and ran off to tell Tante Marie. He looked over to his brother then. "Nicu, you were always a good teacher. How fast do you think you can teach Alvery Romani?"

He looked hesitant but he thought it over briefly. "It depends. Do you want me to teach her the whole language?"

Clopin shook his head. "I need you to just teach her what she needs to say at the wedding in our  
language. I plan on teaching her the rest of the language."

He looked over at me. "Depending on how fast she can learn, it can range from about an hour to five."

Clopin nodded. "Would you be willing to teach her for the ceremony tomorrow?" He nodded and they discussed this for a little while before Nicu had me lead him to my tent. We spent about two hours covering what I was going to say at the wedding. He said that I learned quickly but the reason it took twice as long than the regular time was just because we were reviewing it several times because of my nervousness.

He bid me a good night and good luck for the next day. I thanked him and prepared for bed. While I was lying down, I stared up at the tent ceiling. It would be the last night that I could call myself Alvery Garnier. I thought back to his letter that he wrote to me and his signature at the bottom. Come tomorrow, I would be known as Alvery Trouillefou.

**Author's Note: **Longer than the last chapter but I'm hoping to lengthen them a bit more. I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Reviews make me happier than finding a treasure map and I love treasure maps! (I'm trying to get a little more creative than: Review please because what fun is that?)**  
**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

-Alvery's Point of View-

I hardly slept during the night, my mind filled with fear for what the following day would bring. The last thing in my head before I fell asleep was all the words I needed to know, repeating in my mind like a song in my head. The next morning I was woken by an overly excited Camille which had me laughing, relieving some of the nervousness. "Come on sleepyhead! Let's go! Get out of bed! You're not late or anything it's just-"

Tante Marie was behind her and put a hand on her arm. "Camille, calm down," she laughed. Camille smiled and looked back to me, nearly bouncing with excitement. I got out of bed and Tante Marie put some colorful clothes on my bed. It seemed to be a lot of red clothing mixed in with some purple and gold which I assumed had been added in by Clopin.

Tante Marie helped me to change into the clothes since they were a bit complicated when we needed to fasten them. I put on a dark purple chemise then put on a light red petticoat which was simply tied at the side. I was then put in a dark red dress that laced up in the back. They then brushed out my hair and put in a headband that had a beautiful design on it. It was a pink head band with intricate red and purple flowers on it. They gave me gold bracelets and anklets and put my gold earring in again.

As Camille put her finishing touches on me, I looked over at Tante Marie. "When is the wedding supposed to start?" She looked over at me from cleaning up my tent and packing everything up for the move to Clopin's tent. "Well, I have to go check on Clopin when we're done with you and once both of your are ready, we can get everything started," she replied, with a smile. I smiled back, my heart beating wildly at the thought of being married not long from now.

-Clopin's Point of View-

Adrian had showed up early to help me get ready even though I had been up for hours, thinking about how this day would play out. That jug held my future with it and, to be honest, I didn't really know how many pieces I wanted that jug to break into. I was just straightening out my tunic when Adrian finally spoke. "Do you think this will be a mistake, Clop?" he asked, his voice showing some genuine concern.

I shrugged. "I'm hoping not but it all depends on what she is willing to contribute to this relationship. Not that I could really stop this anyway. The last thing I need is to be tracked down for murder and besides, she's a tough girl and should be able to handle herself while I'm at work," I had to add since he knew I had killed many when protecting our home. "It would be great if the jug only broke into a few pieces since she's not a gypsy and not many people like her in the Court. If the jug breaks into much more than that, well... the people will have to learn to like her," I muttered, not sure what else to tell him as I sat in the chair at my desk.

I took my hat in my hands and let out a heavy sigh, closing my eyes. "It would help if she liked me a little though," I muttered sadly.

Adrian looked over at me from his spot on the floor. "She liked you enough to save your life," he pointed out.

I nodded thoughtfully. "That's true. Unfortunately, she doesn't exactly show why she saved me. Pity could have a lot to do with it. You know I'm rather patient but if she doesn't show any real love towards me, I'm not sure how well this marriage will work out."

A small silence held between us as we slouched lazily in our spots, daydreaming for the most part. My entrance shook which broke my focus on seemingly nothing. "Who is it?" Adrian called out.

Our aunt responded so he told her to come in. "Are you ready, Clopin?" she asked. I stood, putting my hat and shoes on. I nodded but as I began to walk out of then tent, I turned to look at Adrian who was now on his feet. "Who's going to be the speaker for this?"

"I will. It's already starting to get a little late and I doubt we''l have too many people so I'll try and make it fast," he said. We began to walk to the "entertainment" stage or better known as the gallows. The nooses weren't up right now due to our wedding taking place. The reason Adrian needed to be so fast was because we needed those nooses since we never really knew when an intruder would just walk in and we needed to "take care" of them.

-Camille's Point of View-

As I approached the gallows with Alvery, I noticed her get more nervous with every step. I laughed a little causing her to look over at me. "It's a jug breaking and a kiss with your future husband, Alvery. It's not anything big so calm down!" She laughed a little but it didn't sound very convincing. "Really, the speaker should be the nervous one," I continued. I looked up to see Adrian standing next to Clopin.

"Adrian's the speaker? Oh, this should be fun," I laughed.

I went up before her and she climbed the stairs, finding Clopin ready to take her hand the second she stepped on the platform. She seemed a lot calmer once she found his eyes though she was still a little nervous. Walking over to Adrian, the two turned their attention to him. Adrian began with a joke at Clopin being the second favorite child of Harman and Jaelle Trouillefou which Clopin responded to with good humor. The gypsies always loved to see the Trouillefou children fighting. It was like watching a really good play with a few punches thrown in.

Adrian continued to speak a few good words about his brothers and how he was excited for Alvery to

join their chaotic family. "Can we have a jug up here, please?" Adrian called. A jug was thrown up to him and he nearly dropped it but Clopin quickly caught it with one hand, holding Alvery's hand in his other. Adrian laughed nervously and Clopin smiled at his brother.

Alvery and Clopin each held a side of the jug. They each said their vows in Romani and I will admit Alvery did speak it very well for it being her first time ever using the language. She then handed the jug to Clopin to break. He threw it down on the platform.

The parts of the jug were very high in number from what I could tell. Adrian came over to count them. He stood when he was done and walked to the edge of the platform. "These two will be married forty-eight years," Adrian yelled, the crowd, for the most part, cheering loudly. Clopin and Alvery then shared a passionate kiss.

-Clopin's Point of View-

We might as well have had a Catholic wedding since forty-eight years was a life long marriage and even if we did live that long, I doubt we would separate by then. We joined the other in the square of the Court for drinking and talking. I kept us mostly with my family and Camille since I knew Alvery would feel out of place anywhere else. Me and Adrian where taking shot of something that we were positive was strong alcohol but couldn't quite identify. Aishe, Camille, and Alvery were drinking what looked like something stronger than wine but not as strong as what we were drinking.

I looked over to Alvery as the conversations were wrapping up. "Want to head back to our tent, Alvery?"

She looked over at me and shrugged, obviously nervous about what would happen tonight. We said good night to my family and Camille then I picked her up to head back to the tent. I set her down on my bed as I lit a candle on my desk.

I smiled at her as I sat beside her, kissing her lightly before a bit more passionately. I could feel her shaking and I pulled back, looking into her eyes. They were brimming with tears of fear and that's all I saw. No love or lust. Just fear. I sighed and backed off of her, lying beside her. She stared at me in confusion. "I'm not about to force you into something you don't want, Alvery. I can't do that with a clear conscience," I whispered. "Let's just get ready for bed, okay?" She nodded, blushing significantly and having a look of shame run over her features.

She went over to her trunk that they had brought in here while the wedding was happening and pulled out a night gown. I turned around, pulling off my shoes, hat, and tunic before sitting at my desk and beginning to write in my journal about the days leading up to today with every detail added. I had only written half a page when Alvery approached me, causing me to look up at her. "Could you help me with this lacing in the back?" she asked, her head low and not keeping eye contact.

I smiled. "Of course." I took off my gloves and stood behind her, unlacing the back as she held the dress up in the front. Dragging my eyes away from her and back to my journal before I could be tempted to go against my word and my good judgment. I couldn't seem to get my hand to write as I listened to the rustling of her clothes as she changed behind me. She must have noticed me listening because she quickened her speed and it was quiet after a few minutes. I heard her trunk click shut and the sound of her sitting on the bed.

I then picked my feather back up and proceeded to write. I had up to this morning's activities written when she spoke. "I'm sorry," she muttered. I glanced over at her, hovering my pen over the paper. I gave her a confused look, hoping she would elaborate. "I might not know you that well but you deserve a better wedding night than this."

I placed the feather down and put away everything on my desk. I blew out the candle and climbed over her into bed so we could talk. She was looking down but facing me. "Alvery, look at me," I whispered and she did so. "Never feel compelled to do something for me or give me anything because you think I deserve it. Do something for me if you want to, all right?" She nodded a little. "Good. Now, let's start our marriage on a good foot, yes? Let's just continue our friendship as we've been doing and show affection when we please," I said smiling at her. She smiled a little back, looking the most calm I'd seen her all day.

I kissed her lips gently. "Good night, Alvery. Wake me if you need anything," I whispered, lying my head down and closing my eyes. She shifted a little, probably trying to get used to sleeping in my bed. She eventually found a comfortable position on her stomach. I preferred sleeping on my side or back usually. I opened my eyes a little to see her staring at me tiredly, her lids closing slower and slower. I took her arm with my hand which woke her up more. Gently, I moved her so I could wrap my arms around her. The calm, steady rhythm of her heart and breathing were the last things I felt before I fell asleep.

**Author's Note:** I hope you guys enjoyed the wedding! Don't worry, guys, they'll get to baby-making in time... they have a life sentence with each other. Anyway, I'm trying to type as much as I can for you guys before a writer's block attacks my brain. I actually already wrote this story but in third person and is was TERRIBLE so I tried to write it like this instead. I already know how it ends and it is not over yet. Believe it or not, this is less cheesy than my other one and I'm adding much more content to this than before so it's not jumping from event to event within three paragraphs. Reviews are better than me discovering Narnia in my wardrobe... if only I had a wardrobe.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

-Camille's Point of View-

Standing at the entrance, I waited for Clopin to get up. He was usually up much earlier than anyone else but I figured he was trying to not wake Alvery or was actually making breakfast. Once he finally exited his tent, I noticed how well rested he was. They must have not consummated the marriage since I knew all too well that the morning after he bedded someone, he would be groggy but usually in a happy mood. He smiled at me, fully awake just like most mornings. "Bonjour, Camille."

"Bonjour, Clopin," I said, deciding not to bring up his activities last night. We began to walk through the catacombs, his outfit jingling the whole way. We parted ways and I moved some crates over to our street corner. I sat down, waiting for my group to gather. Corin was the first to meet me, flute in hand as he sat down on the crate beside me. We were a group of three. Corin played the flute, Mihai played the lute, and I danced. Corin and I talked a little, mostly talking about Alvery and how well we thought she would adjust.

I looked down the side street to see the side of Clopin's cart. By the looks of it, he was ready to start entertaining. The shops were opening near us which raised my worries about Mihai which I brought up to Corin who shrugged, obviously clueless on where he was. Just as some townspeople were beginning to come outside for their errands, Mihai appeared, walking over to us brokenly. His clothes were rattier and more torn up than usual and his hair was messier, causing me and Corin to get up and help him over.

"What happened, Mihai?" Corin asked although we both already knew the answer.

Mihai sighed, "The usual. Some of the other men got drunk in the Court and I was the victim." The bruises on his face proved this claim. It was usual whenever we had a celebration that all the larger men in our Court thought they could handle a lot of liquor and Mihai, as scrawny as he was, took quite a beating from them. It was sometimes a shock when Mihai wasn't hurt after a celebration which angered me a lot. He always minded his own business and it was a shame he was beat up just because he wasn't very sociable.

As more people began to walk by, we began to perform. Mihai tuned his lute to match Corin's flute and I just danced as usual. A hat that Mihai had dragged along was on the ground, coins being thrown in it all morning until a whistle sounded. Luckily, a guard was showing up just as we were leaving to take a lunch break so Corin grabbed the hat and we split up. During lunch in the Court we would eat while splitting the profit then go back up on the streets to continue for a few more hours before turning in for the night.

I found Clopin was right on my heels as well as Tante Marie when I entered one of the other secret passageways which was in a tavern. I questioned Tante Marie on her being with us since she usually ate at her table of things to sell. Besides that, she wasn't selling goods near us so she wouldn't have needed to stop due to that guard. She told me that her and Clopin heard about a fight occurring between Alvery and Isabelle, one of Clopin's former girlfriends.

I sighed. Of all of the ones for her to get in a fight with, it was the nastiest of them all. Isabelle was a red headed woman with a terrible temper. She was always overly protective of Clopin, yelling even at me for getting too close. She was one of the ones Clopin so lovingly labeled his "last options" because she was one of he last women he dated before running out of women to date within his age range. She was younger than both of us but acted as if she were older. As you could imagine, a woman with that personality didn't particularly appeal to Clopin.

As soon as we entered the Court's center, you could tell something was happening in the center of this giant mob. I ran ahead of Clopin and shoved people aside. Clopin did a loud whistle, one I hadn't heard since his father, which caused everyone in the Court to freeze. I moved for him and so did the rest of the crowd. I followed behind him as he approached the two. Isabelle had taken a few hits to her face while Alvery was in much worse shape. Her arm had deep scratches down it and, until Isabelle noticed us, Alvery's hair was being pulled.

It would be an understatement to say Clopin was angry or ready to explode. Even though Trouillefous are fun and loving in every way possible, you do not want to anger one of them. "That's enough, you two! Alvery, get the hell back to the tent!" She hung her head and began running back to their tent while Clopin turned to Isabelle once Alvery was out of hearing range. "What the hell is your problem? I let her walk around the Court for one morning and you ambush her?" His voice wasn't as loud as it was when he spoke to Alvery but it wasn't because he had calmed. His tone now was enough to want to make you crawl to his feet and beg for forgiveness.

Of course, Isabelle seemed as though they were having just a casual conversation. A smirk was on her lips from watching Alvery run away bloodied and bruised. "I just thought your wife should know about your activities with women is all," she grinned.

Clopin's glare only intensified. "It is not your right to tell my wife any of that. She just knew I had a family yesterday let alone know what women I've been with," he growled. "If you so much as lay a hand on her or cause her to need to lay a hand on you, I will punish you and it will not be a good punishment in the slightest, are we clear?" A good punishment for us was a lecture or just a quick whipping if it came to that. To hear that he wouldn't even give her that was a scary thought since Clopin was very lenient to us. She nodded, walking away quickly to her tent while Clopin, disregarding the crowd, walked towards their tent to speak with Alvery.

-Alvery's Point of View-

I slouched on the cushions set on the floor of our tent, tears streaming down my face. I was trying my best to hold back the tears but I knew Clopin was upset. He was disappointed in me and I wish I would've just walked away from Isabelle. She was starting to tell me that I was just another woman to sleep with for Clopin and I had enough of it, throwing the first punch.

My body was now facing away from the tent, tears blurring my vision as I watched the shadows of anyone that passed by. I wasn't only crying due to Clopin but the pain that Isabelle inflicted on my body. I looked down at my arm and quickly looked away. It was cut by her nails. My head was aching from her tugging at my hair as well as my sobbing which seemed to have no end. I noticed Clopin's shadow approaching and tried my best to silence my sobs by closing my mouth which just resulted in my body shaking with silent cries.

He paused in the entrance of the tent before moving away from me and towards one of the trunks. He brought over a rag while grabbing a bottle of something. He knelt down beside me and gently took my arm, his hold on it as if he were holding a glass doll. "This may sting a little," he whispered, pouring some of the liquid from the bottle on the wound on my arm, causing me to cry out and resume the sobbing I had been trying to muffle. He tied the cloth around my arm before pulling me to him, hugging me tightly. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, ma cherie. My temper can rise quickly when there's violence," he muttered, stroking my head lightly.

I didn't respond to his apology but he continued to try and calm me down. After several more minutes, I was calmer, only hiccuping quietly. He asked me if I was all right and I nodded. He hugged me again and let me go, setting me down on the cushions. "It's only lunch right now, Alvery, so I'll be back in a few hours. You might want to rest so that you don't get beaten again and so that arm can rest." I only nodded and he turned to leave. "Oh, before I forget, I was wondering if you might want to go to the tavern with Camille and I later. It will get you some fresh air," he said, a smile on his lips. I smiled a little back. "I'd love to." He wished me a good afternoon and went up on the streets again.

**Author's Note**: Alvery gets injured a lot in this story XD Hopefully you guys aren't getting too bored with reading this. I'm trying to get Camille and Mihai in this a bit more since I love Camille and I hope you guys do as well. Next: The tavern! Who's ready for some drunkenness? :D


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Author's Note**: A brief warning before you begin: This part does contain suggestive material but it is as censored as I could make it for anyone reading this. Please Enjoy! =)

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-Alvery's Point of View-

I ate lunch and made dinner for us. I had usually been the one helping my mother with the cooking since I was about five or so. My curiosity spiking as I saw his journal lying on his desk, I picked it up and flipped through the pages. It was probably just filled with days in Clopin's life so I didn't know why he felt it should be kept from me.

I began to read some of the entries which got more legible as I read. There were some entries I read which, I won't lie, made me feel very uncomfortable in how he talked about his relationships with some of the women of the Court. "Are you enjoying that book?" A voice jolted me out of reading and I felt the blood rush from my face as I knew it was Clopin. I quickly put his book back on his desk and hesitantly turned to face him. To my surprise, he didn't seem very angry but almost hesitant, curious, and wary.

"I'm sorry I read it without asking but I was just curious," I muttered, looking down and inching as far as I could away from him. I had no right to be looking through his personal items especially the one item he kept his thoughts and feelings in.

"It's all right. Curiosity can get you in trouble though so please don't go through that book. You may play with anything else in here besides the jars of medicine over there," he said softly, motioning to the trunk he had gotten the things to clean my arm from.

I nodded to that, my head still ducked low. He chuckled lightly, coming closer to me. "Really, Alv, it's okay," he said, kissing my cheek. "Now, how about we have a nice dinner then head with Camille up to the tavern?"

-Clopin's Point of View-

I was finally able to get Alvery to calm down about reading my journal. I didn't mind her reading it all that much except for a few entries which, by how rattled she was, I assumed she didn't read. I figured based on her reaction that she only read my early entries about my relations with other women. We ate in a bit of an awkward silence that neither of us broke besides me complimenting her on the food she made which was very good especially for a Parisian.

As we cleaned up, Camille entered our tent. "Come on, you two! Let's go get drunk," she exclaimed impatiently with a smile causing us to laugh. We quickly finished up and then we were on our way to the tavern. Alvery showed distaste in the sewage we had to go through but Camille and I were used to the sewage by now. I continued to glance at her injured arm and she would insist she was fine and told me to stop worrying about it.

We sneaked into the tavern through a secret entrance in the back room and Camille and I took our usual seats at the bar. I ordered a very strong drink while I gave Alvery something far lighter while Camille settled for something in between. I took a large sip of my drink, made a face and then talked to the bartender who was a friend of ours. She may live the life of a peasant but she was at least a little higher in class than a gypsy.

"Chloé, this is my wife, Alvery," I announced to her in Romani with a grin.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Clopin, everyone in all of Paris knows of you two. If there's anything you know how to do it's make a name for yourself."

I tilted my bottle towards her with a slight nod to agree and took another swig of it. Alvery must have noticed my expression toward the strong drink since she asked, "How can you drink that without getting drunk in two seconds?"

Chloé laughed at this. "You must be joking! Clopin drinks at every festival thrown in Paris. He's gets slightly tipsy after drinking a few bottles of that," she giggled, cleaning come glasses and going back to serving other customers. There were many people in the tavern for a weekday which I found a little strange but it was good for their business.

I decided to cause some conversation by talking to Camille. "Hey, Cam, you see that man over there?" I asked, nodding my head to a disgusting man who was one of the wealthier men in the town. She nodded, glanced at me warily, a glare seeming to form. "Maybe you should offer him a drink," I teased which she responded with a kick to my leg. I would always tease her about not even trying to get married and would always recommend the weirdest ones I could find that she would turn down.

I went to turn back to Alvery to see how she was doing with her drink. It seemed to be half empty and I looked over to her to see her scanning the tavern lazily. I looked over to Chloé as she made her way back over to me. She smiled and we continued some light chatter, my eyes glancing at Alvery to see if she wanted to join in but she seemed to be daydreaming while sipping her drink unconsciously.

As Chloé was telling me a story from what happened earlier that day when we heard the sound of fabric ripping. Normally, if we heard that sound we would assume someone was doing something in one of the back rooms but this sound was right next to me. I turned quickly to Alvery who seemed to just come out of her daydreaming. A drunk seemed to have stumbled over and ripped her blouse as well as parts of her bodice open. Before anyone could see too much, I hopped down and gathered her into my arms before rushing into one of the back rooms.

I lit a candle in the room and placed it on a shelf, pulling out a needle from the side of my shoe. I took some material from one of the puppets I had stored away in my outfit and threaded the needle miraculously with how shaky my hands were. Whether it was from adrenaline or nervousness with where I had to sew was a mystery. I made my way towards her as she held the blouse together. It buttoned from the back so this sewing would be easier than it would be if the back had been ripped.

I slowly and gently moved her hand away as I grabbed the fabric at the end of the tear and began to sew. "I-I'm very sorry about this, Alvery."

She looked at me in confusion. "Why are you apologizing? It's not like you planned this out."

I shrugged. "True but I should have been watching you. If he would have-"

"Clopin-"

My eyes met her's and what I said next to interrupt her sounded almost teasing. "Don't interrupt me."

She raised an eyebrow, smiling a little until she quickly hid it. "Or what? How could you make me? I can interrupt you all I wa-" I had enough and forced her lips to mine passionately. We kissed for many minutes but I was forced to pull back as I realized that Camille must be wondering where we were. She looked at me almost sadly for pulling back.

"Camille's waiting," I explained. "Let me fix your blouse and we'll get back to the Court." She nodded. She seemed rather patient with me fixing her blouse but she blushed and I figured she just caught onto what would have happened had I not stopped us. Time moved very quickly then. We left with a drunk Camille. After leaving her at her tent, we went to our tent where I served us more alcohol, mostly to myself since I was pretty sure she couldn't handle much. Once we were both in a drunken daze, we had relations for the first time. I knew I subconsciously guided her when she wasn't sure on what to do.

I woke slightly from my drunken slumber when she stirred, sitting up and holding the blankets to her chest. I could hear her quick breaths as she probably just recalled what happened. I gently put my hand on her elbow above her injury. She looked over at me in the darkness. I smiled a little at her, pulling her back to lie down.

She slowly relaxed but she kept a small distance between us which I was fine with. She did lie her head on my chest though, catching me by surprise for a second as I didn't know what she was doing. She then moved her head as if trying to find something. She seemed to have found it as she settled, her breath relaxing as she listened to my heart beat. I kissed the top of her head softly and fell to sleep myself, looking forward to my many days of marriage with her.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Author's Note:** A nice long part for all of you =) Happy holidays!

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-Clopin's Point of View-

Weeks began to pass somewhat normally which I wouldn't trade for the world. Alvery and I would eat together most of the time while also continuing to make love. Our bond strengthened significantly and I even started to notice her starting to branch out more to some of the woman in the Court. She had kept her distance from Isabelle though Isabelle seemed to want to get near her. Luckily, Alvery had become to make friendships with some of the women I dated in the past that were very good but just didn't meet my standards.

I sat looking down over the Court from the gallows. Alvery was with her friends and I thought if she necessarily "met my standards". She was an excellent cook, very beautiful, and teased me at times but still loved me. I rose my head from my knee that was propped up as I had come to a realization. Did we actually love each other? We had made love but that wasn't a definition of love... We were married but that didn't mean we loved each other. Heck, I barely knew her when we were married.

"What are you thinking about, Clopin," I heard from behind me. I glanced behind me to see Esmeralda approaching along with Djali. She sat down beside me and followed my eyes as I redirected my vision to Alvery as she sat laughing with her friends. Esmeralda sighed beside me though she wore a smile. "Let me guess," she teased, nudging me lightly.

I looked over at her, a small grin on my face. "Let me guess what you're thinking about. Hm," I thought, playing with my short beard. "It couldn't have anything to do with you marrying your knight in shining armor, now could it?"

She frowned at me, that pout I always loved forming. "Clopin, he was willing to give up his position in the military to become a gypsy."

I smirked, leaning back on my hands. "He was kicked out of the guard, Esmeralda. He didn't resign. Besides, you know how many times I've seen you get your heart broken and he's yet to prove his worth to me."

She now looked angry with me. "I know you are trying to help but he's right for me. I know it and so does he. If you won't approve of the marriage, we can just have a wedding in Paris instead," she remarked defiantly.

I shrugged, looking back at Alvery once more. "Fine. Do that then. But if you felt my approval wasn't needed, I don't see why you haven't gone with that option earlier," I muttered. I knew she wanted my approval of her husband since I was the closest thing to a family member she had.

She frowned at the disappointment in my voice and ducked her head, looking over at Phoebus who was drinking while speaking with some of the other men in the Court. "I'm sorry, Clopin. I don't think we'll go with that option," she admitted. "It just aggravates me when you can't just approve of him. Everyone else in the Court seems to like him but you."

I looked over at her and placed one of my hands on her's. "No one in this Court has higher standards than I though. Especially when it comes to you. I know how eager you are to have a child but you must look at this through my eyes. You know how many couples have been torn apart in this Court due to death, disease, and arguments. I just wish none of this on you and I need to make sure Phoebus feels the same way. I will say I do trust him somewhat but just let me have some more time to judge him. I do see his actions whether you think I do or not and he will be rewarded for them soon."

She looked down at my hand before looking back up to my face. "How soon though, Clopin? If you watch us as you say you do, you would know how much we love each other and would approve the marriage."

I sighed. "As I said, give me time to make a decision. I would give you an exact time if I knew it but I don't so I can't." She gave me a small smile at my confusing words but nodded.

-Alvery's Point of View-

Since Clopin's siblings had left, I began searching for new friends and I had finally found a few which were the ones I was sitting with as I glanced up at Clopin while he was speaking with Esmeralda. I found myself staring into his eyes as he seemed to be looking down at me as well whlie making some funny faces which had Esmeralda giggling and me raising an eyebrow at him though a smile fought to break out on my face. "Alvery? Alv, hello?" Simza called, waving her hand in front of my face.

I focused my attention back on her, smiling. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Simza smiled, glancing at Clopin and turning back to me. "I was asking how the "heir making" is going," she hinted. I ducked my head, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. "Aha! So you two have been working on it," she giggled triumphantly. She was a bit younger than the rest of us but she was apparently with Clopin about a year ago. She had told me that she lived in the Court her whole life and she told me she broke off her romantic relationship with Clopin because he had been the king since she was born and she found that strange to be dating since she thought of him as more of a father figure.

The rest of the women smiled though Camille, nudged Simza gently. "That's their business, Simza. As long as their trying to make them, that's all that matters," she looked over at me with a smile. "We'll help with the babies though, of course."

I raised an eyebrow. "Babies?" I asked, emphasizing the plural form.

Camille nodded as if I was being ridiculous. "The Trouillefous have always had huge families. Clopin's father had six children, Clopin's grandfather had eight, his great-grandfather had five and so on. They are known for their appetites, humor, and family sizes. Sorry, Alv, but I think you guy will be having a pretty big family," she said though it was hardly an apology when she wore such a big smile. She was obviously very excited for us though now I was nervous about having all these children and being able to provide for all of them.

My eyes cast down as I thought of our future and I found myself jumping when Clopin approached behind me and wrapping his arms around me. He chuckled, kissing my temple. "You all right," he asked quietly.

I nodded. "Shouldn't you be doing your kingly duties or something," I asked teasingly, glancing over at him."

He smiled at me. "Yes, I should get going. I'm on guard tonight." I frowned. We were usually put on guard duty in a group with each other. "I'll only be able to come to bed for a few hours then I have to go to work." He sounded very pessimistic about the whole thing and I couldn't blame him. "I'll try not to wake you and I'll probably see you either tomorrow morning or lunchtime." I nodded and he kissed my lips quickly before leaving to go with his group.

-Clopin's Point of View-

As my shift came to a close and the new group switched with us, I was already ready to collapse. If I didn't have Alvery I probably would've fallen asleep in the catacombs and just left to work but I would have missed just sleeping by her side. I stumbled sleepily to our tent and stepped in, stripping quietly before lying by her side as gently as I could. She stirred slightly, her eyes opening and focusing on me.

"Sorry," I whispered and she just shook her head with a smile, pulling me close to her. I was freezing from the catacombs and the warmth from her body was a welcoming thing. "I love you, Alvery," I whispered to her without thinking. I felt my heart race for a second, wondering how she would take that statement.

She looked up at me sleepily. "I love you too," she whispered, kissing me gently before laying her head back down and stroking the side of my head which caused me to grow closer and closer to a happy sleep.

The morning came much too quickly and I made my way out of bed to dress. Alvery got up as well. She was getting much better at adapting to our sleeping schedule though we were both much more tired. I was tired due to the more work I've been doing and she was tired because of trying to adapt to the time schedule. We both whispered good mornings to each other in rough morning voices.

As I got in my performance outfit, she prepared a quick breakfast. I grabbed a piece of bread with jam on it that she made and ate it while saying a goodbye and thank you to her before quickly running to catch up with everyone. I performed as usual using my various puppets to whip up a story that I let the children add to if they wanted. Luckily, they were very creative and I barely needed to use much of the brain power I had left from only a few hours of sleep. I looked down the alleyway I could see Camille down and noticed she had left for lunch early.

Lunch had come and I excused myself from entertaining the children as most of them had already gone with their parents to go eat. I closed the windows and sat down on my small cot in my caravan. Unfortunately, I had ended up falling asleep before I knew it.

-Alvery's Point of View-

It took all my power to not tell Clopin my plan with Camille today. We wanted to go surprise him with a lunch today. Well, she thought of it and I was the one who was going to eat with him but either way, it sounded fun and out of the usual. Besides, I was starting to get very annoyed with being so cooped up.

Camille held my hand and led me to Paris through an entrance in a cemetery. I held a basket of food with me and I was going to give her something to eat at her place when I went over to Clopin. Camille told me that the children didn't come over to the puppet cart unless he had the little windows on it open. I pulled my hood closer to my face as we went into town, nervous of the guards and what they might do to Camille or me. I wasn't nearly as skilled as most of the gypsies at evading the guards so I did my best to keep my head down while Camille led us through some of the side streets to find Clopin.

I frowned as I realized Clopin hadn't moved away from my house which would have been the smarter thing to do but he was always one to hold his ground. I fished into the basket and gave Camille a sandwich. I would've made something more filling if I hadn't been afraid of dropping it. She thanked me and motioned me towards the caravan. I grew nervous as I approached for no real reason. We were husband and wife and yet I felt like a complete stranger as I walked inside. I looked frantically for him, afraid he might have gone back to the Court using a different entrance.

I was greeted with soft snoring from a cot. My eyes adjusted to see him slouching against the wall in a sitting position. I smiled softly, realizing how tired he must have been. I walked over to him, setting the basket on the ground beside the bed. I placed my hand on his face and he jolted awake. His eyes searched frantically as he woke up and focused on me before he relaxed. His eyes were half-closed as he slouched down, not saying a word but fighting to stay awake so he could speak.

I shook my head and sat down beside him, pulling him down without much effort since he was so weak. He laid his head in my lap and fell asleep within seconds. I pulled off his hat so I wouldn't be hitting it accidentally and placed it on beside me. I ate my lunch while he slept. Once I finished, I shook him gently. He seemed to be much more rested although it must have only been a half an hour or so. He turned so the back of his head was on my knee as he stared up at me. "I'm sorry, Alvery. I was just so tired," he whispered, trying to make up useless excuses for not coming home.

I laughed. "It's no problem. Camille and I thought it would be nice for me to get out of the Court for a bit and I thought I'd bring you some lunch while I was at it," I said, nodding my head toward the basket resting beside the bed. He looked over to it and smiled, thanking me and sitting up slowly, his joints cracking as he stretched. "How are those joints, old man," I asked as he stretched. He chuckled and picked up the basket, eating his food... well more like inhaling his food. "Tante Marie invited us for dinner tonight," I mentioned as he adjusted his hat and picked up some of the puppets.

He grinned and nodded. "Of course, so long as you're feeling up to it."

I tilted my head a little. "If I'm feeling up to it? I'm not the one who just passed out for about an hour,"I pointed out to which he gave a shrug to. "She said it was the least she could do for our two month anniversary," I said, adding a bit of a laugh at the end. He glanced over at my laugh. "I just find it funny that she considers you being with someone for two months is an accomplishment worth celebrating."

He grinned as he sat beside me. "Perhaps it's because she knows I found the perfect woman" he cooed.

"Or maybe it's because she knows you're stuck with me in a life sentence," I teased.

His grin grew and he gave a shrug. "Either one I suppose." He gave me a quick peck. "So, are you staying here and heading back with me when the show is over or do you want to head back to the Court?"

I stood up. "I should probably go help Tante Marie with dinner actually. I'll see you at dinner though," I asked, turning to leave. He smiled and nodded, opening his windows as I walked back to Camille who was sitting at the end of the alley waiting for me.

As we were walking back, Camille stopped. We were in the catacombs and I looked at her questioningly, nervous that we might have been followed. She looked around and listened carefully before turning back to me. "Are you feeling okay?"

I gulped. I thought no one would notice but, unfortunately, Camille is overly observant. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

She put the hand not holding a torch on her hip. "Alv, you honestly think you can lie to me that easily?"

I dipped my head. "I think I'm just getting a bug is all. It's no real surprise since I've been underground and changed all of my eating and sleeping habits as well as my entire routine. I'll be fine, Cam, really," I insisted, walking forward so she would too.

She did so but continued to glance at me skeptically as we made our way to the Court in silence. We paused by the guards, Camille keeping the torch near our faces so they could all see us. We entered the Court and she went back to her tent once she was sure I was okay. I walked to Tante Marie's tent and she welcomed me with open arms as always.

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**Author's Note:** Everyone's all sleepy XD It might have something to do with me being so tired when I wrote this... Speaking of which, if there are a bunch of grammar or spelling mistakes, I sincerely apologize for not catching them. If there is a mistake with anything here as far as grammar, spelling, or accuracy in this, PLEASE let me know and I'll do my best to fix it ASAP. Hope you all enjoyed this update. =)


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Bloody Kirai****: I hope this is a short enough wait ;) Thank you for the review and I'm glad you're loving it =)**

**emochildlova: Thank you for the review and you will find out soon enough =)**

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-Tante Marie's Point of View-

I hugged my niece as she came into my tent. I really should be thinking of her as my nephew's wife but she quickly became part of our family without a doubt in my mind. "What are you doing here, dear? Not that I'm not happy for you to stop by but I just thought I would see you at dinner in a few hours," I asked, pulling back from her and motioning her to sit down on some cushions.

She shrugged. "I just wanted to see if you needed help. Besides, I have nothing else to really do," she replied with a quick look around to see the food. It was already made and I was just going to heat it up if it got cold. Clopin always loved the Spanish dish I had made for him since we moved here from Spain when he was little. I was curious if Alvery would be able to handle it though since Paris was more known for their pastries and sweet food than spicy.

I smiled at her and took a seat across from her. "The food is already made. I'm just going to put it on the fire before dinner." I took note of her shifting a little in her seat. "Are you okay, Alvery? You seem a bit uncomfortable."

She nodded. "I'm just feeling a bit under the weather. It's strange. I keep feeling really tired but I thought I was used to the sleeping schedule by now," she muttered.

I nodded, thinking of the possibilities. It was possible that she could be pregnant or just sick. Not wanting to scare her for no reason, I just went with the latter. "Why don't you lie down in here for a little while? I was actually busy sewing some things so I'll just go do that and you can get some rest.

She smiled at me. "Thank you. You'll wake me for dinner?" I nodded and she smiled and slouched down on the cushions. She moved a lot until she was comfortable tilted on her back. I picked up a blanket I was going to be selling soon and placed it over her. I sat down on a chair and began to sew and cut fabric to make small clothes for Alvery and Clopin's children. Most of it was made from warm clothing though some were made of cotton.

I looked over at Alvery as she slept peacefully on the cushions. I smiled at her then looked over to the trunk I had pushed back that had a purple ribbon tied around the bottom. I had never revealed it to anyone but my brother. It was a trunk I had started of clothes for babies to toddlers. It was meant for Clopin's children but we grew worried as Clopin failed time and time again and getting married while the rest of the children who were old enough already had spouses. Now that this Parisian girl stepped forward, the trunk might not be such a useless cause after all.

-Simza's Point of View-

About a month after Camille let Alvery out of our Court, Alvery seemed sicker than ever. It wasn't much fun in the Court without her with us. She seemed to get vomit whenever we set anything out to eat that had vegetables in it and she looked as if she was going to whenever she smelled any food with a strong odor.

I sat with Camille, Bernadette, Denise, and Margot as we chatted about anything in the Court which ultimately ended up with us questioningly each other for information on how she was feeling. We had met in front of my tent which was only a few down from her tent so we tried to keep it down. I sat facing her tent and was the first to notice her poke her head out. I motioned my head to her and my friends turned to look at her. She motioned us over and vanished inside.

Once we arrived, we noticed her looking very scared. Margot and Denise sat on the bed while Bernadette and I sat on the floor, leaving Camille to go near her. It was better to have one person rush over to her than box her in and probably scare her more. Camille pulled out Clopin's chair and sat her down in it, trying to keep her still. She kept looking at Camille looking lost as Camille tried to calm her down as she was shaking gently. "I don't know how to tell-" she was cut off by a small whimper from her as she fought back some tears.

Camille stroked her upper arm. "What's wrong, Alv?" she asked quietly, continuing to pet her arm gently. Alvery dropped her hands to her sides as we noticed she was holding them over her stomach. She straightened a little so we would notice the small baby bump forming. All of us wanted to lunge out and hug her, I could tell, but we all wanted to make sure she was calm before we did anything. Hormones could really mess with a pregnant woman.

Camille laughed a little. "Alvery, this is good news. Clopin will be happy. Why would you think any differently?" she asked, holding her hands.

Alvery frowned, swallowing as she tried to get some control. "I'm just afraid we won't be able to provide for a baby and I don't know if I'm ready to be a mother or anything about taking care of or having a baby and-" She let out a sob then and Camille hugged her.

"Sh, Alv. It's going to be okay, I promise. Clopin has been saving up for raising his family since he started working and plus we all take care of each other here. Your child will be fine. Clopin knows everything about children and taking care of them. He practically had to raise his siblings. I'm sure Margot would give you a few pointers as well," she said encouragingly.

Margot was the oldest of all of us and had three kids of her own and she swore on her life to stop there. Margot agreed with Camille and Alvery seemed to calm down a bit after a little time. We eventually worked her emotions back into stability and she was happy once she had taken Camille's words to heart. We all got to hug her and congratulate her before Camille shooed us out to let Alvery have some room to think which none of us minded, laughing as Camille shoved us out like we were all little kids. We walked back to my tent to talk about the future heirs.

-Camille's Point of View-

I sat beside Alvery and we tried to talk on the fun side of the baby things such as what she thought it would be which, like most mothers, said a girl. We talked about baby names and what we thought her girl might look like. Someone shook the tent door and Alvery called whoever was out there in. Clopin was late today and I did start to worry now since he wouldn't be waiting to be welcomed into his own tent.

Mihai stepped in looking more shaken than usual. "Um, Camille... Clopin and.. and Jaelle," he stuttered out. All that I needed to hear was that before getting to my feet with Alvery following. She probably figured Jaelle was an ex-girlfriend but she was far from it and someone Clopin hated more than Isabelle which was saying a lot.

We made our way to the small mob that surrounded the entrance though it was closer to his and Alvery's tent which showed he tried to get away from her. I pushed through the crowd, making a way for me and Alvery as we now stood in the first row of the circle. Clopin stood across Jaelle with his arms crossed and looking as annoyed and angry as ever. The rest of the crowd, with no surprise, was on his side in this matter.

"Clopin, you aren't still mad at me are you, after all these years?" Clopin responded with an intensified glare. Jaelle frowned, trying a different approach. "I assure you, I have changed for the better, my dear." Clopin only continued glaring which I couldn't blame him since God knows what would come out of his mouth right now with children around. Jaelle worked up some fake tears that spilled down her tan cheeks. "I don't expect you to pity me and I don't ask for it but you aren't going to throw your own mother out on the street, are you?" Clopin seemed at a loss for words as he had glanced at Alvery. He knew that Alvery had just found out who this fight was with and I was sure he was trying to figure out a reply. Of course, if he just told her to get lost, all of us would be fine with it. "Well, are you?" she asked again, more fake tears falling down her face.

Clopin's jaw tightened as he met her eyes and drew closer. "Well you did just fine throwing yourself out the first time," he hissed. "Why did you come back?"

Jaelle drew back as if hurt by the question though all of us knew it was an act that was most likely put on since she heard about Clopin having a Parisian wife. "Is that anyway to address your mother after she has been gone for so long?"

Clopin sneered, drawing back from her again. "Why do you continue to emphasize 'mother' to me? You were anything but a mother to me. You were more like the biggest flaw that had ever been part of my life," he yelled, storming through the crowd who allowed him to walk past. I dragged Alvery with me behind Clopin since the last thing I needed was for her to be closer to Jaelle than Clopin.

Alvery walked up to Clopin the second we walked in. He was seated in his chair with his head down. "The biggest flaw of my life? How could you say that to your own mother, Clopin," Alvery asked though Clopin seemed unfazed by the questions.

He looked up at her, his head still resting on his arms. "My mother wasn't there like yours was for you, Alvery. I'll tell you the story someday but just not right now." She seemed to regret bringing it up in a few seconds and sat beside me on the bed instead.

Jaelle stormed in the tent momentarily, walking over to Clopin's chair and tipping it before I could stand. "How could you embarrass me like that, Clopin? After all I've done for you, this is how you repay me?" Clopin now stared at her with frightened eyes. Not because he was afraid of her for himself but it was because of how close she was to Alvery that was terrifying him. He had hit his head on the fall and now held his hand there as he backed towards us, his hand on his dagger. Jaelle had thankfully left as she saw his hand fall on his dagger but Clopin didn't move, still in his crouched position on the floor as he seemed to be dazed.

-Clopin's Point of View-

_**Flashback**_

_I walked along the empty alleyway with my maman at my side. I was in my mid-tweties but that brought on many responsibilities which included starting a family. The problem was that my mother still expected me to take care of my younger siblings. I wouldn't abandon my siblings for the world but I knew that I needed to start my own family. She was ranting to me, as always, about how little my father and I do but we really did most of the work in our family. _

_She had taken to drinking as soon as the she was done breastfeeding Céleste. This had resulted in her embarrassing me multiple times as well as troubling my youngest siblings. I learned quickly that with or without alcohol she wouldn't stop herself from raising a hand to me. I took the hits for the younger siblings as well, never wanting to see them injured especially by her hand. _

_She had just finished a bottle of something before she came over to me. We were walking home while I let her ramble until she started to speak poorly of my father. "I swear, you and Harman do nothing! You go around wasting your life away on dumb dolls and your father doesn't do a damn thing. He might as well be dead for all I care." _

_I glared at her. "Don't wish ill on dad. He did nothing horrible to you," I growled, my anger spiking._

_She smacked me. I was so weak due to not eating too much since most of my money was going to saving for my future family and giving to my family. I stumbled when she smacked me, landing shakily on one of my knees. Before I could comprehend it, my mother gagged me with her scarf. "He did the worst possible thing to me. He gave me you," she hissed, tying my hands and whipping out her dagger which she used to drag from my shoulder down to my knee. She dug deep, causing me to howl in pain though it was muffled by the gag. She shoved me to the ground but let out a scream of her own as a stranger stabbed her with a dagger. _

_She dropped her dagger and I used it quickly to cut my ropes. I didn't wait for one of them to kill me and instead I fled, running to my home. I heard footsteps behind me and I ran as fast as I could though the pain in my back was causing me to cry out after I had removed the gag. I hid in a corner as the stranger ran past me. The stranger was dressed in a cloak but they did turn for a second and I could have sworn our eyes met but they continued to run after that stop. "Clopin? Clopin?"_

"_Clopin? _Clopin?"

I jumped as I was pulled into reality by Alvery's voice as she called to me frantically. My visioned returned from its blurry state and I met her eyes. I swallowed thickly as I realized they weren't only the eyes of my wife and the girl who lived in the building behind my puppet cart. They were the eyes of the fearless woman who had saved my life that night. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I had come to this realization and Alvery noticed them. "Are you okay?" she asked frantically.

I pulled her into a hug, hiding my face in her black curls. "I'm fine," I assured her, letting a few tears fall as I kissed her neck. She seemed to relax after a little while and settled into my embrace that I refused to unlock.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Flashbacks are so much fun :D Unfortunately, in the first version of this story, I didn't have much planned for after this but I guess I could add a few more little things in to lengthen this out a bit. =) Just a little fun fact: My first version had 52 pages [in the program I'm using] and it was finished. This is unfinished and I am on page 50. =)


	20. Chapter Nineteen

-Alvery's Point of View-

I didn't have the slightest clue on what Clopin was so worked up over but he was relaxing slowly as I let him hold onto me. Camille had left to give us privacy and we sat there in silence. We were both content in sitting there on the ground while we finally took a breath. Him from his mother and me from the thought of my pregnancy. After several more minutes he kissed the top of my head and pulled away.

He didn't show any interest in eating surprisingly which I was fine with since most food was making me feel sick. He closed the tent and got ready for bed. I was curious on why we were going to bed so early but I had not objections to it. I knew we were both tired and perhaps going to bed this early was just what we needed.

I turned from him as I changed and I could feel his eyes on my back. I was hoping to just throw a light dressing gown over myself though we usually slept naked. I didn't want him to notice my baby bump though and I figured I wouldn't raise suspicions by doing something out of the ordinary. I quickly made my way toward our bed and lied down beside him. He looked at me a little in worry but I just smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on his lips before resting my head on the pillow and drifting to sleep.

Clopin had left for the morning without waking me since he probably assumed I was sick but I just felt tired due to the pregnancy. I left my tent to go talk to my friends as they all had met in front of Simza's tent again. I sat down beside them and they filled me in on the latest gossip from who's courting who to casual things such as weather or work. No one mentioned my pregnancy, unsure if I had told Clopin yet and they seemed to take my silence on the matter as a no.

Margot pulled me into a hug as I yawned, feeling fatigued already. "A baby will do that to ya," she whispered into my ear. The rest continued on a conversation as Margot asked me questions quietly about the baby. A smile fell on my lips as I answered her questions varying from when I've been sleeping, in what position I've been sleeping, what I've been craving, what makes me sick, and then she asked the one question I had no clue on. "How are you going to tell Clopin?"

I sighed. "I'm not sure yet," I muttered, thinking about it a little.

"Well, he's sure to find out when you go into labor," she kidded with a giggle. I just smiled and began to think of how I should tell him ranging from just plain out telling him or planning something romantic to tell him. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way," she added before addressing me on other topics.

-Clopin's Point of View-

I picked up a loaf of bread on the way home, Camille walking beside me as we chatted away at random. We walked through the catacombs in silence as we listened anxiously in case there was a sound of footsteps following us. There wasn't luckily and we entered the Court, both of us heading towards the group with Alvery in it. She was leaning on Margot's shoulder and she was nudged by her to get up. She sat up, yawning cutely and rubbing her eyes to look over at me. I smiled at her and knelt down, kissing her softly and passionately. "Good morning, sleepy head," I murmured with a grin. She smiled back and pulled herself to her feet, saying goodbye to her friends. "So, how was your day?"

She shrugged. "Nothing out of the ordinary I suppose. Gossip going around as usual but about two I never heard brought up before," she stated, glancing back at the group and around a little. I raised an eyebrow to this and she pulled me a bit closer. "Mihai and Camille," she muttered.

I grinned. "They've been talked of before but I suppose more so now since you and I came into topics and thus Camille would be dragged right along." She nodded thoughtfully as we walked into our tent for dinner. After dinner, she sat on the bed and I sat down in my chair. We looked at each other then around the tent as neither of us could find anything fun to do with ourselves.

I glanced up towards the shelf of liquor. "Do you want a drink?"

She furrowed her brow then looked over at the shelf, knowing it contained alcohol, mostly strong alcohol. She swallowed. "No thanks," she muttered.

I chuckled. "Come on, Alvery, you used to love drinking games. Why don't we play one?" I asked excitedly, enthusiastic about finding something to do.

She shook her head. "I don't want to, Clopin."

I still held my ground with a playful smile. "Alv-"

She glared at me, her mood seeming to have changed with the blink of an eye. "I said no, Clopin."

I shrunk back slightly. She had never actually gotten mad at me like this since before our marriage and all over some game? "All right, all right, calm down, cherie," I murmured. She stood, pacing a little which I found very odd behavior for her. She never showed so much anger at me during our marriage and it was such a silly thing to get angry over. "Why are you getting so worked up over this, cherie?

We can think of something else to do," I said, getting out of my chair to sit her down.

She turned to glare at me again and I stood where I was. "Clopin, you don't understand! I wish I could play drinking games with you but I can't and I sure wish I could. Ever since we kept sleeping with each other night after night, it turns out I became pregnant so now I've had to endure hell on my body the past few months. I've had to do this by myself and I wish I could drink to take away some of the stress but I can't because I know that would hurt this baby," she growled at me, tears streaming down her face as the rant went form her sounding like she wanted to rip me limb from limb to sobbing.

She sat on the bed sobbing as I stood dumbstruck at the information she spilled to me all at once. After shaking off the initial shock, I ran to sit by her side immediately and pulled her to me. "Alv, why didn't you tell me? I could have helped and made everything so much easier," I whispered, stroking back her hair as it continually wanted to fall over her beautiful blues.

"I-... I thought you'd be angry because we don't have that much money," she admitted, dipping her head though it was still against my chest.

I sighed then chuckled lightly causing her to look at me in confusion. "We have enough money, my dear, I assure you. Besides, even if we didn't, I wouldn't be angry at you for it." She nodded, tears falling again. I reached into my costume and pulled a handkerchief from it. "No more tears. There's nothing to cry over now," I whispered, handing it to her. She wiped her tears and sniffled a bit as I pulled her back into a hug.

I kissed the top of her head gently then pulled back a little and placed my hand on her abdomen, a baby bump now very obvious to me. I had thought she only gained a bit of a belly which I hadn't minded at all but it was strange to me since I know she wasn't eating large amounts of foods let alone sweets. She froze as I touched her stomach then slowly put her hand over mine and leaned against me as she sat across my lap. I smiled a little at the moment and kissed the side of her face lightly and repeatedly. "I love you," I whispered between kisses.

She smiled a little. "I love you too," was whispered back and we remained like that until some of the fires began to be put out outside. "What ever happened to your mother," she asked curiously though I heard a hint of fear in her voice. I couldn't blame her for being frightened since she had seen my mother slap me, her own son, and probably feared for herself and our child.

I smiled at her calmly. "She's gone. She knew she wasn't wanted here and was quickly chased out of the Court. She will likely never return and I'm glad." She nodded in agreement, pulling herself from me as she went to undress. I did the same and climbed into bed after her. "Although, perhaps some of my other family members would be happy to come and visit through your pregnancy," I added with a grin.

We lied close to each other so we could see each others faces. She rolled her eyes at my statement with a playful smile. "I think you mean all of them would show up," she replied which I chuckled to in response. "At least Aishe might be able to help me plan and help me make clothes along with Nadya and maybe even Celeste. And, I'm sorry, but you might need to deal with your brothers," she giggled as I groaned jokingly. We bid each other good night and she fell right to sleep while I stayed awake a little longer to gaze at her a bit. She was now going to be the mother of my children and I couldn't have been happier as I held this woman in my arms.

-Alvery's Point of View-

The next month went by less stressful for the most part but much more uncomfortable. I was probably about five months along according to Tante Marie because of when I started showing signs of my pregnancy. She told me that she had helped with many births in the Court so I allowed her to help me with mine since I'd rather have her helping me with it than a stranger any day. Besides the greatness of my bladder shrinking immensely, not feeling comfortable at all so I could never sleep, finding out that "morning" sickness occurs at all hours of the day and night, and mood swings to top all of it off, the pregnancy wasn't that awful. I still got time to myself as well as no one glaring at me anymore.

Within the first week of my fifth month, I had grown about twice the size I was a few weeks ago and I had no clue why. Tante Marie just smiled at me, trying to get me to understand through my hormonal crankiness that I'm pregnant and have to get big or else the baby would be unhealthy. I began to accept this after my mind had cleared and decided to go back to my tent. I sulked a bit about the enormous weight gain in Clopin's chair when someone came up behind me and hugged me. I gave a squeal of surprise when it wasn't Clopin's gloved hands but a woman's instead. She giggled happily behind me and I realized it wasn't anyone's laugh I knew. I stood and turned to see Aishe smiling and nearly hopping with excitement.

I grinned and she pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheeks. "You look so beautiful, Alvery. You also look very healthy," she stated, looking down at my baby bump. "Have they moved yet?" I shook my head a little sadly. "Well, you're a starting mother but I doubt it will be much longer." We began to talk about many topics that brought us always back to the baby. "Oh! Speaking of clothes, Nadya and I made some baby clothes for you. I made a bunch of boy ones and she made girl ones since I'm sure you'll have one of the other in the future anyway," she said with a shrug.

I smiled, my hand drifting back to my swollen abdomen. "Let's take care of one at a time, okay?" She laughed and agreed with a grin as she went out and brought in some baby clothes in a partially filled trunk.

"We'll make more while we wait for the baby," she explained, motioning to the emptiness of the trunk. "Adrian's a good carpenter so he offered to make a crib for the baby and he decided to make an extra one just in case."My eyebrows shot up about that. I hadn't even thought of that. "Not that there definitely is but, well, twins run on our side of the family out of our dad's brothers so I'm just saying it's possible. I doubt your first born will end up being twins though, honey, so don't worry yourself over it." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I shouldn't have said anything. The last thing I want you is stressed."

"The last thing she needs in more stress from you," I heard my husband say as he, Adrian, and Nicu stepped inside.

I smiled at him from his chair. "Play nice, would you?"

He shrugged half-heartedly and sat on the bed, rubbing his eyes. "The lack of sleep catching up with you, Clopin?" his sister guessed with a grin. He seemed to be ready to snap back a remark but was interrupted by a yawn. She turned her attention back to me. "I hope you two didn't have anything planned for dinner. Nadya is cooking for us. I figured you guys haven't had a good meal in awhile since you're pregnant and Clopin is hopeless."

I laughed as Clopin gave his sister the evil eye. "That sounds lovely, Aishe. Thank you," I said, returning her focus to her.

She grinned and nodded. "No problem! We'll leave you two alone so maybe you can get some rest," she stated, standing up and dragging her brothers out of the tent. I laid down beside Clopin as he scooted over for me. He normally slept on the left side, closer to the door, but we found it easier for him to move out of bed by climbing over me than the other way around. Neither of us bothered to pull the blankets over ourselves as we caught a bit of sleep before dinner.

**Author's Note: They sleep a lot but I'm sure they'll be lacking it later :D I hope you guys enjoyed this update and I hope you have a safe and Happy New Year. =)**


	21. Chapter Twenty

-Adrian's Point of View-

Once dinner was made, I was given the responsibility of waking Clopin and Alvery. Sneaking into his tent, I noticed the two were sleeping beside each other, looking like they fell asleep the second they lied down. I smiled a little at the sight of them, so content to be with each other. I guess Clopin was able to weaken her will to hate him down enough to have her love him. I sneaked over and leaped onto my brother who let out a cry of surprise before growling and throwing me to the ground easily.

I looked up from the ground, meeting my brother's tried and angry glare. I smiled innocently and he rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. I heard Alvery mutter something with a small giggle following. "It's just Adrian being annoying as usual," he sighed back, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. I stood up and grinned at the two as Clopin got up, helping Alvery to her feet. He looked over at me. "Food better be ready because if you just woke us for no reason you will be lucky if you aren't hanging from the gallows within the next hour," he said, his tone ready to kill me but what else was new.

I smirked. "Yeah, dinner's ready, Clop. No reason to get hostile," I laughed, hopping out the door. He was always angry at me for waking him roughly but I just couldn't help myself. It was always so much fun! I turned around from walking toward Nadya's tent to wait for the couple. They caught up eventually, hands linked as they spoke quietly, soft smiles playing on their faces as they seemed to be sharing jokes or stories.

I turned back around and continued walking and glanced around. Mostly everyone was inside their tents eating, in the catacombs guarding, or up in Paris so there wasn't many people near our path. It was nearly empty besides the occasional child running around or someone just strolling. Maybe that's why the sight of Camille kissing someone near her tent caught my attention quickly. His hair reached to just below his shoulders and was in a tie. He was taller than Camille but shorter than my brother.

"Woah," I heard Clopin mutter under his breath behind me.

I glanced over at him. "Who is that?"

Clopin and Alvery had giant grins on their faces as they seemed to be very joyous about this kiss. "His name's Mihai. He's usually very shy around women but Camille since she works with him... I suppose he isn't very shy anymore," Clopin chuckled.

Alvery pulled on his arm. "Come on, you two, let's give them some privacy," she whispered with a smile evident in her voice. We shrugged and followed her to Nadya's tent for some delicious food.

-Clopin's Point of View-

I forced down my uncontrollable smile at seeing Camille and Mihai's kiss to try and focus on dinner with my siblings, positive that would bring my happiness level down a few notches. I looked over to Alvery as we walked in, her blue eyes quickly finding Aishe and released her hold on my hand to go hug her and thank her then proceeded to do the same to Nadya. Nadya was the one we dubbed the awkward one in the family but she gave the best hug she could back, looking taken off guard by it, causing me and Adrian to laugh quietly.

She made her way back towards me and I helped her to sit as we waited for the rest of my family to arrive. After talking for a few minutes about my siblings' travels, Nicu came in with Céleste perched on his shoulder with a smile lighting up her face. Everyone grinned and welcomed them. Nadya took a bowl from the pile and past them around as well as silverware. She placed a pot in the center which contained a stew. She also placed a bowl of bread beside it. Alvery was permitted to take food first since this dinner was for her and she needed it most. Céleste was next since she was youngest then we went by age besides Nadya who picked last since she was "the host". We had always chosen to eat like this in my family since there was always a fight for food until my father developed this system.

We ate with much conversation. There could never be a silent moment when all of my siblings were together. Someone would pick a topic then it would slowly develop into more and more as we related stories to the topic of conversation. The conversation had started with Aishe bringing up Alvery's pregnancy which led to Adrian, being the inappropriate one as well as the one without a thought to what he would say, brought up how she got pregnant. Alvery scolded him since Céleste was sitting near him. This brought the question from Céleste on how we made the baby, causing Adrian to laugh in joy at our flustered expressions.

Aishe interrupted quickly, bringing up Adrian's great craftsmanship on the cribs he made, leaving an answer-less Céleste. She opened her mouth to bring up the fact her question was unanswered when Nicu began to talk to her about what they would do after dinner which quickly brought her small attention span from the question she wanted answered. Adrian was distracted from the question by Aishe complimenting his craftsmanship which he enjoyed bragging about. I had to give it to my brother, he was a very talented carpenter. I brought up how well he did on making the chair at my desk. It was one of his first project and still one of his best. He ranted about how he made the cribs which none of us truly cared for but still kept our attention on him so he could talk about what he was proud of.

When Adrian finished, Nadya brought up briefly making blankets for the baby, one blue and one pink. She placed down her empty bowl she was holding and reached into a trunk nearby for them. The blankets looked to be very thick and warm and were decorated with small intricate stitching made from simple thread. The navy blue blanket had blue swirls until the middle where they all met to form a crescent moon. The pink blanket were straight lines meeting at the center. A sun was made at the top and bottom of the blanket. Alvery smiled at her and tanked her, telling her that they were very beautiful which I repeated. She nodded and handed them to me. I placed my empty bowl down and took the small blankets, folding them carefully then placed them in my lap.

Everyone began to stack their bowls and Nadya collected them with Aishe as they began to wash them. Alvery turned her head to look at the blankets in my lap which I caught despite my conversation with Adrian. We were fighting about nothing in particular and both of us snapped to attention as Alvery placed a hand on her stomach and her eyes widened. My instinct was to put my hand on her back and my other hand went over her's. "Are you okay?"

Everyone's eyes were now on her, even Céleste stopping her playing to focus on the situation. She  
nodded, her face now looking very confused as she looked back over at me. "Yeah... That was strange," she mused, every person's eyes encouraging her to continue. "It felt like something just ran across my stomach lightly," she muttered, causing all of us to smile. All of us knew someone pregnant at one point or another, not counting Céleste.

Alvery looked at me, her eyes filled with worry. "Don't worry, Alvery. That's just the baby moving," I said, kissing her temple lightly. I pulled back as some tears fell from her face but I only pulled back to see her smiling before she kissed me on the lips for a few seconds. We were interrupted by Adrian letting out an obnoxious "Aw" which resulted in me also throwing a cushion at him. The rest of my siblings giggled and Nicu and Céleste took their leave as Nicu had promised Céleste he would play with her. Nicu was usually the "good" one and Céleste was the baby. Aishe was the mother and I was the eldest. We had always had those type of characteristics since we were young and I was sure that would follow us the rest of our lives.

I helped Alvery to her feet as we bid them goodnight. I was eager to tell Tante Marie as well as Camille. Tante Marie had the predicted response by hugging Alvery and asking her standard questions to make sure she was healthy. Once that was taken care of, we walked up to Camille who wore a giddy smile on her face as she leaned against a wall, minding her own. Alvery shouted to her as we approached and Camille looked up, jumping slightly as she was broken from her thoughts. Her smile returned and she hugged Alvery and me as we told her the news.

My eyes fixed on her accusingly as she continued to wear her smile. "So what was with the happiness radiating from you as we came over," I asked, hinting in my voice that I knew precisely why.

Her smile dropped a little, a blush playing on her face though I'm sure it was hardly noticeable to Alvery since she had a hard time telling when we blushed with how tan we were. "No reason," she responded immediately, her smile dropping as she got very defensive which I couldn't blame her for doing. I always prowled around her business more than needed but she did the same to us so I just figured I would return the favor.

Despite Alvery wanting me to stop pushing answers from Camille, she remained silent as it seemed she wanted Camille to admit to it as well. I looked around before saying anything else. The only people nearby were a group of little kids who were far to wrapped up in their game to be listening. Besides, they seemed too far to hear every word of our conversation. "It couldn't have anything to do with Mihai, could it?" A smile played on my face but not in a cruel joking 'I know' manner but a friendly smile, letting her know we weren't going to be mocking her for it.

She shrank back at my accusation, her head dropping a little as if afraid to admit it. Once again, I couldn't blame her for her reaction. I had not been one to approve of the men she picked out simply because they were not right for her but she had apparently disregarded my tone about Mihai. I stepped toward her and lifted her chin. "Hey, calm down. Mihai's a good man. I have nothing against this relationship. I fully support it," I told her, meeting her eyes so she would be convinced. She smiled a little grin and hugged me with a small thank you.

We stood there and talked about her and Mihai's relationship until she had enough and decided to pry into our private life a bit in return. Luckily, Alvery was usually reserved due to who she was brought up as so she wouldn't ever respond to Camille in length on our private life. Once Camille realized she couldn't get much more details, they began talking about the baby and Alvery's growing size which always seemed to lower her self esteem though with her mood swings, which were getting more and more frequent, sometimes she wouldn't even recognize the weight as an issue.

Alvery began to grow weary. Though she never said anything regarding it, Camille and I could tell when she blinked more and slower. Camille excused herself so she could prepare for being on guard tonight which Alvery accepted as an excuse and we started back to our tent. I closed our tent and suggested she should get ready for sleep. She just nodded and prepared for bed while I straightened the tent up a bit before sitting down at my desk to fix a few of my puppets that got damaged just from their age or from children playing with them.

I looked up from my work to see Alvery laying on the bed, her head rested on the pillow with her one arm while her other arm controlled her hand which was making mental patterns on the mattress. Her eyes wee unfocused as it seemed she was in thought. This intrigued me so, as opposed to usual, I asked about her thoughts, breaking her from them. She blinked rapidly and focused on me as she heard my voice. She ducked her head slightly, shrinking it back towards her shoulders at my question and quietly answered, "I was just thinking about my family." Her eyes looked over to me for my reaction.

I nodded sympathetically. "Well, I'm sure we can visit them once you have the baby. I just don't want you injured up on the streets especially while you're pregnant."

She propped herself up using her elbow, her face saddened. "I just wanted my parents to be able to see their first grandchild be born."

I frowned. "I'm sorry, Alv, but you know I can't allow Parisians into the Court. You must remember that your father sent me to jail over a misunderstanding and I worry he would turn all of us in and tell the guards where we are. I already had to deal with that terrible event already and I don't wish for a repeat."

Her mood seemed to shift towards anger now. "You think that my father would just turn all of us in?"

I remained calm and blank faced, trying not to provoke more anger. "I'm not saying that. You must look at this through my eyes, Alvery. I never trusted Parisians unless they were in alliance with us. Just because you're my wife, doesn't mean that your family loves me. You have to remember that, in most eyes, I dragged you into the life of a gypsy and some may think that I'm forcing you to have my child. Of course, I would never do that but everyone in Paris, especially those of higher ranking, would think I would do something like that."

She seemed to accept this as she grew quiet and lied back down. I prepared for bed and paused as I saw tears fall from her eyes. I went to her side and wiped them away. "Sh, my dear. I'm sorry. I truly am. I swear to you that we will go see them once the baby is born. They will see him or her then. I will keep them updated on how you're doing through your little sister, Cerise." Her eyes seemed to respond to me then at her sister's name as the focused on me now. "She still comes to see my puppet shows and I'm sure she would give news to your parents if I asked. This way, I don't have to fear arrest and your family can still hear news about you until they trust me." She smiled and muttered a thank you beneath her breath. I nodded and climbed into bed beside her. She turned towards me and cuddled into my shoulder as she fell asleep peacefully.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Author's Note:** Sorry but this part isn't as long as the others but it's still rather lengthy. (1,959 words) The others are over 2000 (like 2300) Hopefully this was worth the wait guys. =)

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-Clopin's Point of View-

Alvery stirred more frequently during the night as a few more weeks went by, making Alvery between seven and seven and a half months pregnant. It was hard to tell when she got pregnant but as she told Tante Marie and I when she started getting signs of her pregnancy, even signs she figured was a sickness, Tante Marie began approximating her conception date. Mood swings were still there to cause a bit of tension between us at times but they would swing back to a regular mood and we would act as if nothing had happened.

My family helped significantly in assisting us to help Alvery stress less. Aishe and Nadya came into our tent frequently to make sure she was all right and to sit with her while I worked but Sunday was my day to spend with her. My siblings would visit once and awhile to check on her but they would usually keep their distance, encouraging us to have an even stronger bond in our marriage with we both rolled our eyes to. We have a life sentence with each other and a baby on the way. How much stronger could our bond get?

I woke up late on Sunday, needing sleep from all that I lost during the week. Opening my eyes, I woke to see Alvery sleeping peacefully for once, her face showing how much she needed rest. Her eyes slowly opened with an exhale, her hand drifting to her stomach. Her eyes met mine in a bit of a frown. "You know, when they first moved, it was very cute and I loved it but the kicking is getting a little irritating," she sighed, scooting a bit closer to me.

I smiled lightly, brushing her hair away from her face and off her shoulders to rest behind her on the pillow. "I should probably get up," I muttered, looking at the door but making no effort to move.

She smiled a little. "Yeah, probably," she said, placing a kiss on my lips. I smiled tiredly at her and got out of bed to make us some food. I wasn't sure what exactly to make us, my internal clock very thrown off by us sleeping in and my sleep schedule. I decided to make us some lunch. Luckily, by now, I knew what Alvery could keep down and it was usually anything light in flavor, not to spicy or sweet. I decided to play it safe and just make some noodles with a bit of cheese on them. She moved to get up and help but I told her to get some rest if she could and she obeyed without being very reluctant.

I ate quickly as she slept and woke her up, helping her sit up and handing her a plate. "Here. Eat this. I've already eaten so I can make sure everything is in working order in the Court." She nodded, understanding after being here for so long what my responsibilities included which was protection and keeping order for the most part.

I headed out of our tent, stretching and sighing as I heard half of my joints crack. I walked through the court and checked on the people to be sure there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Aishe came barreling into the court, nearly tripping over her own feet with her speed. She ran straight to me, tears pouring down her face. "Aishe, what's wrong, chérie?" I asked frantically.

She was shaking so violently I was wondering if she would be sick. "A-adrian and Avery," she choked out making me tense up, "they got captured." I looked around quickly, trying to think of a plan.

My eyes finally met her anxious ones. "Go let our siblings know and send Nicu. Tell him to meet me outside the Palace of Justice. Stay with Alvery until we get back. Promise me," I said, kissing her cheek. She nodded and I sprinted up to the city, taking double the amount of speed I would use to race Camille, the adrenaline the only reason for my superior speed.

-Nicu's Point of View-

"No, Nadya, that's not our card," I called out, acting bored at Nadya's trick. Céleste couldn't keep from giggling since Nadya had picked our card with the first try but now she was half way through the deck, getting frustrated with trying to find our card. She finally set the deck down with a frown causing us to erupt with laughter, Céleste falling over in a heap of merriment. "You picked out our card on the first try, Nadya, we just like to give you a hard time," I told her as an explanation to our laughter.

Her mouth dropped and she glared at us with a smile. "I can't believe you two! Especially you, Nicu! You are training Céleste to turn into a little liar," she scolded.

I pointed at Céleste accusingly. "She came up with the idea!" Céleste, knowing she was guilty, only responded in more and more giggles. Nadya gathered up the cards that she had scattered everywhere in a frantic search for "our card" while muttering something about how much she hated her family with jest hidden in it.

Céleste stopped her giggles abruptly. "Aishe! Aishe! What's wrong," she asked, her eyes widening in fear. I looked over to see Aishe running over to us, her face paled and she looked as if she had just had her soul taken away. Acelet had been watching the trick with amusement beside me but now looked just as troubled as Céleste.

He quickly sprang to his feet as his wife approached. "Adrian and Avery were captured," she muttered almost blankly now, apparently in shock. "Clopin wants you to meet him by the Palace of Justice," she stated, looking directly at me. I nodded and stood up, racing through the catacombs before anyone could say another word.

My bare feet stung at the cold sewage as I raced through to the entrance closest to the Palace of Justice which was in a hidden building that looked to have no doors or windows. It was placed in an alley that only a few gypsies walked down. There was an exit on the roof that I had used multiple times in my childhood and had no trouble using now. I leaped from rooftop to rooftop with ease, inheriting my uncles' and father's acrobatic skills. I leaped down from the roof into the end of the alley and continued into the main streets, quickly making my way through the townspeople to the Palace of Justice.

No one paid me much mind as I approached the terrifying building. I stood against the stone wall and slipped into towards the side wall, hunting for my brother. After circling the entire wall, I leaped up at the back of the wall and landed on the top of the stone barrier. Looking down, I saw my brother leaning against the wall of the building as if it were just a regular building on the streets. Looking around quickly, I made a dash toward my brother who grinned as he saw my approach.

I put my back against the wall like him and looked over at him. "What took you so long?" he asked with a smile. I rolled my eyes. "I found what room they are being kept in. As of now, they are being held as prisoners and have not been tortured yet." I cringed as he used the word 'yet'. "There is only one guard in their room as of now and he looked like he would fall asleep any minute. I told Adrian to use his dagger to cut the bars when he could. The downside to this method is it's very loud so he could only do that if the guard is in a deep sleep or is called into another room. I needed you to use your ventriloquism to have 'another guard' call him."

I nodded and he peaked around a corner. He quickly slipped around the corner and hopped onto the ledge of one of the windows and I followed, copying his movements as we scaled the building. He was lucky he was so tall because he could go on his toes and peek into the windows to make sure no one was in there and then he would proceed to scale up the building, having me follow. He paused at one of the ledges and helped me up onto the same ledge as him.

He pointed to the room above us and I nodded, pulling myself up carefully. I peeked in the window. Avery and Adrian noticed me but continued looking as miserable as ever, putting on that attitude to not cause suspicion. I looked over to see a chubby guard slouched in a chair, not paying much attention to his two prisoners. I found the door and quickly made a voice that sounded far tougher than anyone I knew. I made a loud booming noise as if someone was knocking. "Soldier, the captain would like to see you," I grunted.

The soldier immediately froze, getting to his feet with a lot of tension in his limbs. He hesitantly looked around as he exited and closed the door behind him as he went to go see what his captain wanted. I looked over to Adrian who quickly pulled out his knife. He cut at the bars causing a very irritating noise to come from the bars. I hopped down to Clopin's ledge and watched as the sparks flew from in between the two metal pieces. The bar snapped loose and Adrian pushed it away. He just had to get one more...

-Clopin's Point of View-

My heart beat faster and faster as I waited for my brother to finish cutting the bars. He was halfway done with cutting the second bar when we heard the door open in the room and the captain's voice shout at them. Nicu hopped down a ledge, leaving room for Adrian and Avery. I looked back up and saw my brother cutting at the bar frantically. The bar broke and I saw it disappear and heard a grunt of a soldier as Adrian had likely thrown it at the soldier's head.

Adrian's feet appeared on the ledge to his window as he was trying to get Avery. "Avery, no!" Adrian's voice echoed in my ears, my heart pounding. I heard a yelp from Adrian and watched his feet slip from the ledge. I grabbed the bar of my window and caught Adrian with my other arm. As he found his footing, I saw him holding his wrist where blood was showing through his hand. He had tears going down his face. "They have him. They're going to hurt him. We have to save him," he cried quietly.

I shook my head. "Nicu is going to take you back to get your arm fixed. I'll get Avery." He looked as if he was going to protest but instead he hissed in pain and strengthened the pressure on his wound. I ripped the end of his shirt and tied it around his wound. "Hurry and apply pressure to it when you get down." He nodded and I watched as he climbed down to Nicu and the two left hurriedly, Nicu boosting Adrian over the wall and then stood on the top of the wall with a nod of luck to me and hopped off, the two running back to the Court as I was left to find my nephew.

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**Author's Note:** WHY DO MAKE MORE PLOT? WHY? D: [This is procrastinating the ending.] So, just a FYI, I won't be updating for a little bit unless I find extra time. I got in the musical (yay!) so I have songs and dances to learn. I also have to keep my grades up. I'll try and write when I can! Feel free to leave a review. I smile when I see it in my e-mail that I got one. =)


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Author's Note: **Did I proofread this? Naaaah not really. I frankly don't have time and you guys don't seem to mind my many many mistakes but hopefully there aren't many down there to annoy you guys =) Back to my homework... -sighs- Have fun reading until I have time to update~

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-Alvery's Point of View-

"He did what?" I screeched, horrified at what my husband was doing. He was the one with the baby on the way. Why wouldn't Nicu stay there and Clopin take Adrian back? Why did he need to play the hero? Tears were rushing down my face as my hormones were threw the roof at this news as Camille sat beside me, shushing me and telling me to calm down, repeating that so much stress wasn't good for the baby.

I began to settle and looked over to Aishe who was staring emotionless at the ground. Actually, she wasn't so much emotionless as she was building up a wall to block out the pain and worry she had for her brother and her child. I moved from Camille and wrapped my arms around Aishe. "They'll be okay," I muttered into Aishe's shirt, sounding almost as if I were questioning her on it. She just nodded against my shoulder, both of us taking comfort from each other as we worried about Clopin and Avery.

"We've gotten out of worse messes. I just hope Clopin's able to get him out okay," she whispered worriedly, looking over at Adrian's wound that was now fully wrapped. Adrian was sitting on a crate with his head down, a guilt filled posture and expression upon him as he was surely thinking about how he failed in rescuing Avery from the room. No one blamed him, of course, since he had obviously tried to get him out as shown by the wound on his wrist. Still, no matter how much we repeated that to him, he refused to accept it and we left him be while he tried to sort this out in his own mind.

My heart sank as I thought of the possibilities. If Avery didn't come back, Acelet and Aishe would be in pure grief and Adrian would be so filled with guilt. If Clopin didn't come back... Tears sprang to my eyes and Aishe pulled me closer, seeming to know what I was thinking. "Sh, my dear, they'll be okay. Clopin can fend for himself more than you think." I relaxed only slightly at that thought. Clopin wasn't the king of the gypsies for nothing. Sure it was an inherited title but he was very able to get himself out of many messes.

With my mind being how wonderful it was, it immediately reminded me of how close Clopin had come to death when I saved him. The tears brimming my eyes finally spilled out. How he dangled in the noose... How his eyes were beginning to lose their fun and caring nature... I shuddered at the thought and whimpered a little. Aishe, being a great mother to Avery, used her skills at being a mother on me, using a motherly tone as she soothed my small cries at the thought of losing my husband. "They'll be okay, Alv. They'll be okay," she whispered over and over. All I could do was hope she was right.

-Clopin's Point of View-

The air felt much warmer, almost suffocatingly warm, as I hunted for the torture room I knew they had dragged Avery to. I ran to the opposite side of the building which was slowly gaining guards as they now knew of my presence. I hid in the shadows, the evening sun beginning to set which made this job about twenty times easier since I could see in the dark almost as well as in the light and I knew none of these guards held that advantage over me. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure if I could wait til nightfall to rescue my nephew. I hid in the shadows of the building and behind ledges. Slowly, I began to scale the building in a diagonal nature, trying to stay out of the eyes of the guards who were always oblivious to me.

I continued to use the method that Nicu and I had developed earlier. Check. Clear. Climb. Check. Clear. Climb. And so on and so forth until I found my nephew, trembling in the center of a torture room. He seemed to be shaking from being sick since he seemed to be very pale and he looked as if he would vomit at any point. I looked around the room and saw no one. Quickly, I pulled out my dagger and began to work on the bars. They fell to the ground of the cell within a several minutes since I had to continually glance up to be sure Avery's guard wasn't coming back.

Avery looked up weakly as I entered the cell and resumed hanging his head, his shackled the only thing keeping him up. I picked the locks on the shackles and tugged them off. He slumped and I caught him, holding him to my chest as I went to stand up. Staying in place as I heard an armor covered body enter, I fixed my eyes on the captain of the guard standing at the door with a smug grin. I began to back toward the window. "I wouldn't go out that way," he laughed. I looked out to sure enough see many guards aiming their arrows at the window, ready to get us if I moved.

I felt Avery cling to me more and felt my tunic getting wet as he cried on my chest. I stroked his hair, knowing a plan and wishing to tell him it but I could do nothing to soothe him as long as the captain stood watching us. "Where's your guards up here?" I questioned and rose my eyebrows at his expression that I read very well. "You sent all of them out there to get me before I got up here?" My expression turned dark as I realized another thing. "You were the one to harm this boy," I growled, not wanting to reveal my relationship to Avery in case that encouraged this fiend.

A smirk fell to his lips. "You may be many things, gypsy, but you are not dumb," he muttered in amazement. His hand unsheathed his sword. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to put those smarts to much use when you're dead." I backed up placing Avery on my back as I did so and backed up to the weapons used for punishment. I just went with the first weapon I could since the captain's approach was increasing in speed. Lashing a whip out, I snapped it at his hand with the sword.

With how much experience I had with using various kinds of weapons on my travels, I wrapped the whip around his sword and yanked, the sword twirling up. I snatched it out of the air, holding it out threateningly. To the captain who was only left with his dagger which he now took out. As he looked down for a brief second to withdraw it from his belt, I swung blindly at him. I was able to slice his chest and wrist which caused him to drop the dagger which I quickly kicked out of the way. "Avery, hide your eyes," I whispered and felt his head move in compliance. I jerked the captain forward using his shoulder and plunged the sword into his torso.

As he sank to the ground with a cry of pain, I ran as fast as I could out of the room. For the first time, I was thankful for having been dragged to the Palace of Justice so many times since I knew nearly every room and who worked where. "Guys, pssst," someone hissed. I turned my head from our running though the Palace of Justice to see Corin, Camille's working partner as well as Mihai's. He seemed to be put in charge of cleaning up garbage.

He opened the bag he had that was empty excluding a few scraps from the kitchen. "Jump in," he whispered. I nodded my head in thanks and went in the bag, holding Avery to me. Altogether, we probably weighed a little less than an average man since I was scrawny and he wasn't the plumpest child. I would complain about the smell of the garbage but we were safe so there was no reason to complain. I remained perfectly still and whispered to Avery to do the same. Garbage doesn't move so we had to do the same. We were slung over his shoulder and I felt the cool of night sweep around us. Of course, as I figured, he was stopped by a guard.

"What's in the bag, gypsy?"

Corin's voice was steady and believable as he replied, "Garbage from the kitchen, sir. I am in charge of taking out garbage instead of, as the captain said, 'wasting his time in a cell'." He held humor in his voice as if the guard was an old friend but it wasn't suspicious since we often kidded with the guards. "If you'll excuse me, sir, I need to dump this in the Seine before nightfall so I-" He was interrupted by screams by the other guards for help since the captain was critically injured. As the sound of the guard's footsteps faded away, we began to move again. We traveled until we heard water and Corin paused then placed us down.

He helped us out of the bag and grinned. "I'll come with you guys back if you'd like?"

I shook my head. "We have no time to waste. I'm sure his mother is worried sick and plus I don't need him getting sicker. He nodded in understanding and resumed his job of dumping the garbage in the Seine. I took off at full speed, running through the alleys until I got to the closest entrance that was hidden inside a crate that was surrounded by other normal crates. I opened he crate and slung Avery over my back again as I climbed down the ladder. I took a torch from my side and lit it, continuing to run at a pace that almost blew out the torch. Avery was now held in my arms again as we entered the Court of Miracles that now held the most comfort to us.

I saw a gypsy scurry to my tent and everyone rushed out. Aishe and Acelet emerged first, running up to me, thanking me over and over, crowding around their child who immediately reached out for them. They walked away, taking him to a healer while I turned to look at the tent and was stopped midway by Adrian who was hugging me tightly, apologizing for no reason. "You were brave, Adrian. You did your best to protect him. He's safe now so don't beat yourself up," I replied and he smiled, still clinging to me as Nicu, Nadya, and Céleste quickly joined the sibling hugging fest and tackled the two of us, all of us laughing and them hugging me, especially Céleste since she was the youngest.

Our laughter died down to gasps for breath with little laughs thrown in. I sat up first, still laughing a little and saw my pregnant wife standing in the entrance to our tent, smiling at the sight of me and my siblings. I grinned and stood up, running over to her and kissing her eagerly. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think of the possibility of being killed and Alvery being alone with our baby. I pulled back and then hugged her to me, kissing her head and face nonstop. "I'm sorry," I repeated in between kisses.

She giggled eventually, the most beautiful sound to me now. "It's okay," she repeated in time with my apologies, lifting her head to kiss my lips. I smiled both of us calm now and smiling as we stood in front of our tent with her head rested on my chest and my face nestled in between in her head and neck. "I was so scared," she whispered and I felt tears stain my tunic yet again.

"I know. I'm sorry again," I whispered, pulling her hair back from her face. "By the way," I started holding out the a in way.

She glared at me with a grin forcing itself up on her face. "What did you do?"

I twiddled my thumbs. "Well, I can't really go up to the surface for awhile because I may have possibly killed the captain of the guard," I muttered.

She sighed. "Right when we were on good terms with my family..."

I pouted. "I know! I know! I'm sorry!"

She laughed. "It's fine. We'll just go see them once everything calms down." I smiled a little and she kissed my lips again.

"Buuuuut until then," Adrian shouted, pulling us apart, "you get to spend some time with us!"

I groaned. "Lucky me," I muttered sarcastically.

Adrian pinched my cheek. "Yes, lucky you," he cooed, running away as Céleste sat on the ground where we were with her eyes closed and her small hands over the closed lids and counting loudly. I pulled my wife inside and let the flap of the tent down but leaving the tent open. I smiled at her and she looked over to the entrance of the tent. She lied down on our bed and I slid beneath it, ready to play with my siblings while my wife served as a distraction. Yes, we were adults and yes, we were playing hide and seek.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

**Author's Note:** Update-osaurus! RAAAAH!... Back to the story and sorry for the wait. =)

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Alvery's Point of View

I acted normal as Céleste entered our tent, staring at me blankly and curiously. She walked up to me, her small feet making little scuffling noises as she scurried around the tent aimlessly. She looked over at me hesitantly. I couldn't blame her. I'd only met her when I was going to marry her brother and then a few other minor greetings beyond that.

I smiled at her and placed a finger to my lips then pointed to our bed. She smiled excitedly, reminding me of the rest of her family's wide grins. Quickly, she looked under the bed and giggled, reaching out and tagging Clopin who was jerking away in protest, trapped beneath our bed as the little girl was far more capable of moving under it than he was. She had eventually got him and he crawled out with a laugh. She smiled a little. "I already found Adrian so he's going to be the seeker," she informed him.

He nodded. "I'm going to stay with Alvery a bit, okay?" he asked, his expression asking her if I was okay.

She pouted a little but nodded timidly. "Okay," she mumbled.

He frowned and walked over to her, kneeling down to her height. "I'll tell you what, how about you go find everyone else and keep playing and I'll help you find Nicu next time you're the seeker." She beamed a smile in delight and nodded, sprinting off while I stared at my husband questioningly. He looked over at me. "Nicu is the best hider out of all of us and I'm usually the only one who can find him. He's never the seeker," he explained, sitting beside me and placing his hand on my baby bump.

I frowned at him, looking at my baby bump he was running his thumb over. "I'm pregnant," I muttered in annoyance.

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss my cheek. "I know," he whispered sympathetically but with a bit of humor in his voice. He lifted my torso a bit and placed my head in his lap, pushing my annoying curls out of the way. "I really hope he gets your eyes," he commented with full compassion in his voice as he stared into my eyes causing a blush to rise to my face.

"But if she gets my hair she will surely get driven insane," I replied with the emphasis on the 'she'. He pulled a face at that. "It will be a girl. I know it," I said simply with a smile.

He shook his head with a roll of his eyes. "Sure, sure," he mumbled in disbelief. His gloved hand had found the side of my head and he began to stroke my temples. I slipped in and out of consciousness as he whispered soothing words to me in order to lull me into a deeper sleep. The last time I slipped into consciousness was hearing Clopin say something about helping with finding Nicu in a hushed voice.

Clopin's Point of View

I was dragged from my sleeping wife to help find Nicu. Céleste was hopping with excitement though it was just about dinnertime so if we didn't find Nicu, the food would bring him out. I peeked into Tante Marie's tent to check to see if he hid there since he normally would hide there in the past since Tante Marie wouldn't tell anyone where we hid. She sat working away and smiled a bit at our entrance then went back to working. She was always an awful liar. When she did that it meant she knew we were playing this game.

I looked over to Céleste. "Did anyone hide in here before this game?" She shook her head. "He's in here... it's just the matter of catching him." I looked around to eventually have my eyes land on the pile of cushions that would only move every few minutes but still enough to drive suspicion from me. I quickly jumped on the cushions only to receive a loud grunt in return. Removing the cushions, I found Nicu looking at me with an angry look. I smiled at him and stood up, helping him to his feet.

Céleste smiled in delight, clapping her hands and hopping up and down. "Go find everyone else, Céleste," Nicu ordered and she nodded quickly, running from our sight. He sat down on the cushions and motioned for me to do the same as Tante Marie turned herself toward our direction. "So how is Alvery holding up after that scare this morning?"

"She was very stressed but she seemed to relax a bit and she even fell asleep not too long ago." Tante Marie lifted her eyes, seeming interested in the conversation. "I probably should have helped Adrian home instead of staying to get Avery but, you know me, I always need to be in the action," I admitted with a grin and he smiled back with a nod.

Camille's Point of View

Leave it to the Trouillefous to be playing a game of hide and go seek when all of them excluding Céleste are far too old for that game. I was traveling around the tents, watching as Céleste went this way and that as she looked for her siblings in the right area but not the exact right place. I wandered toward Clopin and Alvery's tent since I thought perhaps Alvery might be awake and if she wasn't I would just find something else to do. As I walked into the nearly pitch black tent, I saw Alvery's form upright in the bed. "Relax, Alv. It's just me," I told her, lighting a candle.

I looked over to see her trembling, a blanket wrapped around her from her waist down. My brow furrowed and I continued to stare at her, waiting for her to speak. She opened her mouth but closed it again, biting her lip as some tears formed in her eyes. I walked over to her cautiously. With her changing hormones, who knows what she was upset about. "Alvery?"

Her blue eyes met mine as she whimpered back, "I think my water broke," in a barely audible voice. My eyes widened but I automatically smiled. Sure she would be in pain but we would take care of her. I hugged her quickly. "I'll go get Tante Marie and Aishe and we can get started," I whispered soothingly. She nodded stiffly in my arms or she shrank back. Either way, I gave her one quick squeeze before running from the tent to fetch everyone.

I ran to Tante Marie's tent first. As I entered I saw Clopin and Mihai laying lazily on the cushions and Tante Marie sat on a stool, sewing some baby clothes. All three looked up as I appeared. "Tante Marie, Alvery's in labor," I said though it sounded like a command since she knew where she was to be. She nodded, placing the clothes aside and picking up a few bottles of water and placing them in a container we would use to wash the infant. She reached to the side and also placed in some warm clothes. I looked over at Clopin who looked very lost, knowing he wasn't permitted in his tent to be with his wife but not knowing what to do now. "Do you know where Aishe is, Clopin?"

His dark eyes found mine, still in a worried and confused daze. "N-no. Ask Céleste. She was still looking for her in hide and seek the last I checked." I nodded and quickly left, nearly tripping on Céleste who was running by but paused to apologize.

"Have you seen Aishe?"

She nodded happily. "I found her. She said that her and Adrian were going to wait on the stage. I have to go find Nadya now," she replied in nearly incomprehensible words with how quickly she was rambling on.

I made my way to the stage and looked up, see Aishe hanging one of her legs off of the stage while Adrian was lying on the side of it. "Aishe!" She peeked her head over the edge of the stage. I motioned her down and, with how urgent I looked I'm sure, she ran quickly, nearly skipping the tall ladder entirely. "Alvery's in labor," I told her frantically as she made her way toward me then sprinted, me following her as we ran to the tent.

As we entered, we were greeted with small whimpers of pain and soothing words. Tante Marie was kneeling beside the bed and Alvery was holding her hand as a contraction hit her. She relaxed within a few seconds and Tante Marie stood, looking over at us in the dim lighting. She ordered Aishe to prop Alvery up using the cushions on the ground and me to hold her hand. I took some of the water from a jug nearby and took a rag from my clothing, dipped it in, and place it on her forehead. I felt pressure on my hand though she seemed to be okay, her stare blank as she gave loud, slow breaths.

Tante Marie sat at the end of the bed where Alvery's legs dangled off, awaiting a head though we all knew it was far from when she would be delivering. She relaxed again, placing her head on the pillows lazily. She glanced continually at the tent's entrance as if she were waiting for someone else. I knew she wanted her husband beside her during her time of pain but he wasn't permitted inside and she knew that.

Clopin's Point of View

I sat at our neighbor's tent, a nice married couple with three children. I had told them about Alvery and they couldn't be happier while I was just a worried mess. So many in Paris had died from childbirth or were injured by it and I couldn't stop thinking of the possibilities. My family was surrounding me as we had made a circle made my crates or cushions dragged out by my neighbors.

I couldn't stop fidgeting. Even when Esmeralda was captured I didn't move this much. I felt like I had no control over my body which couldn't understand whether it wanted to stand, walk, pace, sit calmly, or sit with my knee bouncing. I also kept taking my gloved off, wringing my hands with gloves on and off, and clasping them together as I prayed to a God I barely ever prayed to.

These nerves worsened as time went on and I heard her screams of pain, as did the rest of the Court. No woman in our Court was quiet during labor but it was their King and Queen's child being born so it drew a lot of attention. I stared eagerly at the entrance, my siblings making jokes and light conversation to try and distract my worried mind but it did no good. That was one major thing wrong with me which I wished wouldn't exist. I could change anyone's bad mood good and vice versa but it never worked on me.

Alvery's screams were driving chills down my back. I knew it was her giving our baby life but it felt like someone was killing her slowly and I could do nothing to stop it. Her screams began to get choked out by her sobs which was even worse than just screams. I found myself biting my bent finger every time she screamed or gave a cry. I jumped as I felt a hand on my back and turned to see Céleste looking at me with worried eyes. "Is she gonna be okay, Clopin," she asked quietly. All conversation had stopped since my concentration on the tent broke.

I smiled tiredly at her. "I hope so, ma chérie," I muttered, wrapping my arm around her back and bringing her into my lap and stroked her back. She knew I could nervous. Children always had what I called their sixth sense which is always knowing when something is wrong. Adults can turn away from problems but children dwelt on it more so. I found my eyes fixed again on the tent as Céleste sat on my lap with no noise, letting my hand stroke her back out of a nervous gesture. My eyes widened as Camille exited, making no indication that she saw us. She ran in the direction of her tent with dirtied sheets in a basket. Only a few minutes later she was returning with more sheets as well as small blankets for our child. "Cam," I choked out. Well, I supposed I said that since that voice sounded as if a stranger had said it but she had looked at me so that voice must have been

mine.

She glance at the tent and entered, leaving one foot out and then turned around, coming over to me in a hurry. She smiled at me gently. "She's doing great. There have been no complications thus far so stop worrying. If anything goes wrong, you'll be the first to know," she soothed, patting my knee and running back to tend to Alvery. Her screams had not stopped while Camille spoke and as she entered, Alvery's screams had stopped abruptly and were replaced with a newborn's cries, nearly as loud and his mother's. It had to be a boy. I had known it was but Alvery was saying she knew it was a girl. I sat in anticipation as I waited for someone to say what it was.

Whispers intensified behind me as people spoke in excitement over it being a boy, everyone hoping for an heir on the first shot. In all the Trouillefou bloodlines that I knew, a boy was always born first for no reason besides luck. I waited and waited but nothing happened. I tore my eyes from the tent and looked at my brothers who shrugged back. We soon heard Alvery crying and my heart leaped into my throat. Had we lost the baby? Her cries turned into screams again and I sat in confusion. What was going on? I thought the baby was born already. Our baby's scream started again and it mixed with its mother's.

After several hours of worrying, Camille came out and walked up to me, a smile on her face which brought me much relief since there was no noise from the tent for the last hour or so. I looked at her in question and she smiled fully. "It's a boy..." I smiled in return and people behind me rejoiced, "and," she began again which had everyone pause in their merriment, "it's a girl." I stared at her as if she had gone insane as did most of our people besides Nadya and Nicu who worse smiles that I didn't understand. "Good luck taking care of your twins, your majesty," she said with a laugh after my title. I put Céleste down and ran past Camille, a smile on my face that was nearly causing my face to be in pain. I walked inside slowly, taking in the sight carefully as to keep it in my mind.

Alvery was lying tiredly on the bed, one of our children breastfeeding while the other was in a crib. Tante Marie stood slowly from cleaning. "Your boy was first born so the tradition continues," she said with a smile as her eyes fell on the crib. She gave me a hug which I returned and she kissed my cheek. "Congratulations," she whispered and I smiled in thanks. Aishe did the same after she was finished cleaning up.

I walked over to my son's crib. He was sleeping peacefully and was wrapped very well in a blanket. His hair was black,as expected with us having the same hair color, and his skin was was mix between his mother's and mine. His sister had the same traits though she had more hair that was curly like her mother's, which went against Alvery's wishes. I heard a little cry from my son's crib and I looked down, scooping him up in my arms where he quickly quieted. He opened his eyes, very big and a shade of dark blue, not fully developed in his young age. They drifted around and finally found my face where they remained for awhile. I couldn't help but smile down at him though I knew he didn't understand and possibly couldn't even see much right now. "Welcome to the world, little man," I whispered quietly and he did nothing in response but continue to stare.

"Clopin," I heard Alvery whisper from the bed in a tired voice from her screams and cries. I walked over to her as she held our daughter away from her breast. She had already fallen asleep so she made no form of protest. I smiled gently at my wife as I walked toward her with our son. I lied on the edge of the bed, cradling the boy in between us as Alvery did the same with the girl. I looked up from our children to look into my wife's tired and happy eyes.

I leaned my head towards her, careful of not knocking over my son as I kissed her gently and pulled away after a minute or two. "I'm so proud of you. How you could carry these two around and give birth to them it beyond me," I admitted while she only offered a smile back, happy tears brimming her eyes and she rested her head on the pillow.

The second she closed her eyes, our boy began to babble on at her in his own language. She opened an eye and looked at our son with a grin. "That's enough from you, sir," she whispered and he quieted as he heard his mother's voice. I sat up and moved our son closer to her while taking my daughter in return. She moved a little to allow our son to rest over her heart. He seemed to be listening and drifted into sleep within a few minutes. I moved to the ground, giving my wife some room on our bed and took our daughter. I took a cushion for a pillow and lied down with her, falling asleep rather quickly as I rested happily with my new family.

**Author's note:** THE END. Now, if anyone wants a sequel or rather I'd write a different story with another chick instead of Alvery, lemme know. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day... /night. =)


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